Chinese FM meets Russian counterpart in Uzbekistan

TASHKENT - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met here on Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Wang said that faced with the current severe and complex international situation, China and Russia, as two major countries and permanent members of the UN Security Council, should strengthen strategic communication in a timely manner, which will help demonstrate the basic situation of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, promote the sound and steady development of bilateral relations, uphold and practice true multilateralism, and push forward the development of the international order in a fair and reasonable direction.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter and the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States, it is of great significance to inherit the past and usher in the future, Wang said.

China stands ready to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with all member states of the SCO, including Russia, to make the organization a backbone for defending international fairness and justice, a stabilizing factor for regional and world peace, and an important engine for global post-pandemic recovery, he added.

Noting that time reveals a person's heart, Lavrov said Russia-China relations have withstood the test of the international situation, which fully demonstrates the traditional friendship and mutual strategic trust between the two countries.

Russia is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with China and promote practical cooperation in various fields.

The two sides should continue to strengthen coordination in multilateral affairs, support the central role of the UN in international affairs, maintain the international order based on international law, and support developing countries in adhering to independence, said Lavrov.

Both sides spoke positively of the development of the SCO, and pledged to jointly support Uzbekistan in successfully hosting the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO, promote the meeting to achieve positive results, and make various preparations for the SCO summit in the city of Samarkand. They also pledged to explore and optimize the operation of the SCO, and advance the expansion of the SCO membership in an orderly manner.

Noting that the SCO brings together major food, energy producing and consuming countries, the two sides said they believe that SCO member states need to strengthen coordination, gather consensus, and jointly play a constructive role in addressing the challenges of global food and energy security.

Both sides agreed to deepen the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union to promote regional connectivity and common development.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghan issue, agreeing to strengthen communication and coordination, and make good use of Afghanistan-related multilateral cooperation mechanisms, such as the foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, to help Afghanistan achieve long-term stability.