Beijing (TDI): Russian Prime Minister’s visit to China comes days after Xi’s meeting with the US President Trump in Busan on Thursday. The Chinese President said “consolidating ties” with Russia is a “strategic choice” made by both sides, as he met Mishustin.
“The two sides must maintain close coordination, upgrade our cooperation, and make new and greater contributions to world peace and development,” Xi further said.
The Russian prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, arrived in Hangzhou – the capital of eastern Zhejiang province, on Monday for the 30th regular meeting of China-Russian heads of government, that took place on Tuesday; where he was joined by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
A joint statement after the meeting said that both countries will stick together in opposing “unilateral coercive measures.” “Any unilateral coercive measures taken by any country or group of countries bypassing UN Security Council resolutions are illegal.”
China has long maintained this stance in the face of US tariffs but the mention of a unified front against such measures signals that Moscow and Beijing are in fact making a “strategic choice” to assist each other.
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This statement is even more important in the context of recent US sanctions against Russia that target Moscow’s oil conglomerates.
Xi also said that China is willing to synergize its 15th Five-Year Plan with Russia’s economic strategies to “continuously benefit both peoples.” He urged efforts to steadily expand mutual investment, enhance cooperation in traditional fields like energy and agriculture, as well as new sectors such as AI.
“China-Russia relations have forged ahead this year despite the turbulent external environment,” Xi told Mishustin, as quoted by China’s Foreign Ministry.
Echoing the sentiment, the Russian PM said that Russia is ready to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and deepen collaboration in areas including economy, trade, sci-tech, and energy.
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