Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Guilin, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and met with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday. Lavrov’s visit is significant. First, this is the first high-level face-to-face meeting between China and Russia since the pandemic. Second, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between China and Russia. Third, both China and Russia are witnessing escalating tensions with the US. The Alaska talks between top Chinese and US diplomats have just concluded. There is a greater urgency for China and Russia to strengthen their relations. “China is a true strategic partner of Russia,” Lavrov told the press as he embarked on the visit. To be honest, the title of “strategic partner” is depreciating in today’s world. Even the term “ally” is depreciating. But China and Russia are worthy of the name of strategic partners. The modern framework of building China-Russia strategic partnership started in the 1990s. The past 30 years have witnessed profound changes in the world’s situation and power pattern. The relationship between China and Russia has gone deeper and deeper while overcoming all kinds of disturbances. Their strategic coordination has become stronger. It can be said that the relationship has withstood the challenge. China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has become the most important diplomatic and strategic asset of China and Russia respectively and has supported the two countries to confront external challenges back-to-back. The two societies have felt the strategic benefits. The concept of “shared commitment to ever-lasting peace and win-win cooperation” between the two countries has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the areas of cooperation between the two countries have been expanding. Despite the impact of the pandemic in 2020, China-Russia trade has exceeded $100 billion for the third consecutive year, and China remained Russia’s largest trading partner for the 11th consecutive year. Russia exported 83.57 million tons of oil to China in 2020, remaining as China’s top crude suppliers together with Saudi Arabia, which shipped 84.92 million tons to China. Their exports increased China’s energy security. China is also the largest export market for Russian agricultural products, which was not the case 10 years ago. China and Russia just signed a memorandum of understanding on joint construction of an international lunar research station. Scientific and technological cooperation has become a new focus. China-Russia strategic partnership has formed an internal driving force, which, together with the strategic urgency caused by the international situation, has promoted the two countries’ relations and formed a strong strategic stability.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times News Exchange Item
