Tashkent, 29 July 2022 (TDI): The Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, met with his counterpart from China, Wang Yi, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Thursday. The two officials explored the latest developments in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The meeting of Russian and Chinese foreign ministers began in a friendly and cheerful atmosphere. Both parties discussed the current state of Russian-Chinese relations, which are evolving dynamically despite the uneasy geopolitical situation.
In addition, they highlighted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization‘s role in developing a regional security architecture. The two leaders underscored the organization’s significant contribution to the process of maintaining peace and stability and ensuring economic development in Eurasia.
🇷🇺🇨🇳 Foreign Ministers Sergey #Lavrov & #WangYi meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.#RussiaChina#PhotoOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/YMsalWEEfB
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 28, 2022
According to the Russian Foreign Minister, Russia supports processes for global peace and order based on international law, multilateralism, and the UN’s central role.
He said on the sidelines of a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that the world is “transforming towards greater diversity and balance.”
In this regard, Foreign Minister Lavrov recalled that the two ministers met earlier this month for G20 the Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali. He expressed that Moscow and Beijing have “friendship proven over the years.”
Furthermore, the heads of Russia and China’s foreign policy agencies exchanged views on the SCO’s key activities and prospects. These include the issues of modernizing the organization and increasing its international prestige.
The ministers also emphasized the SCO’s leadership role in fostering regional security. They also underlined the organization’s significant contribution to Eurasia’s peace, stability, and economic development. Both parties discussed the current situation in and around Ukraine.
China-Russia bilateral ties
China and Russia have a long history of cooperation as well as disagreement. Over the last decade, the ties between these countries have grown stronger.
Over the last two decades, trade between the countries has increased to $147 billion. Xi and Putin agreed to increase annual trade by 50% by 2024 and to build a cross-border gas pipeline. China and Russia have begun to abandon the use of US dollars in trade, a process called de-dollarization.
Since 2014, defence cooperation has grown between these countries. The countries have begun to collaborate on missile warning systems and space exploration. In May 2022, China and Russia sent another high-profile signal of their strategic partnership by flying bombers close to Japan.
At a meeting in February 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that their partnership has “no bounds” and promised to expand cooperation on a variety of fronts.
