BEIJING: China and Russia held the 20th round of strategic security consultation on Tuesday in Moscow. The two sides conducted comprehensive and in-depth discussions on major issues involving the strategic and security interests of both countries, reached new consensuses and enhanced strategic mutual trust.
They agreed to fully implement the important consensuses reached by the heads of state of the two countries in the field of strategic security and promote the strategic cooperation between the two sides to a higher level of quality, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
Analysts said the mechanism not only further strengthens the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era and enhances mutual alignment, but also injects greater stability and certainty into an increasingly turbulent global landscape.
Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, noted that China-Russia relations have achieved high-level development this year. Centering on the key theme of commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the two sides have jointly carried out a series of important high-level exchanges.
In particular, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held two meetings in Moscow and Beijing respectively, which have guided China-Russia relations to make steady progress amid complex changes and move forward steadily in an uncertain world.
The two sides should consolidate strategic mutual trust, deepen good-neighborliness and friendship, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, serve the economic development and national rejuvenation of each country, jointly address the emerging new threats and challenges, and better safeguard world fairness, justice, peace and stability, Wang said.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said that the current international geopolitical situation is undergoing complex evolutions, with mounting challenges in the global security field.
As comprehensive strategic partners of coordination, Russia and China need to enhance strategic alignment, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a readout.
The strategic coordination between Russia and China has reached an unprecedented high level, which is in line with the national interests of both countries and conducive to peace in the region and the world at large. Russia and China have been developing their bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect, free from external interference, he said, per the readout.
Russia firmly adheres to the one-China Principle, resolutely supports China’s positions on issues related to Taiwan, Xizang, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, Shoigu added, according to the readout.
The two sides also conducted strategic alignment on Japan-related issues and reached a high degree of consensus, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. They resolutely oppose any erroneous words and deeds that attempt to whitewash the history of colonial aggression; and firmly counter the attempts by fascism and Japanese militarism to stage a comeback.
Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the strategic security consultation mechanism is an integral and essential component in consolidating and strengthening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.
Its existence helps steadily elevate China-Russia cooperation across a wide-range of domains and enables both sides to align their positions at regional and global levels, Li said, noting that “as a result, coordination and collaboration on major issues of vital concern to each other become more effective and productive.”
Amid the current complex and turbulent international landscape, the China-Russia strategic consultation mechanism injects greater certainty and stability into an unpredictable world, providing much-needed predictable expectations, Li remarked. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
