Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in China for Two Days of Intensive Talks with Wang Yi
Focus on enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation within international organizations such as the UN, BRICS, G20, and SCO
The international situation is so heated and the problems facing Russia and China are so numerous that it takes two days of intensive talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart and host Wang Yi to analyze them all.
During the two days, April 8 and 9, Lavrov and Wang will discuss bilateral cooperation and analyze the interaction between Moscow and Beijing in the international arena. A separate chapter will be devoted to policy coordination and joint work at the UN between Russia and China, the two permanent members of the UN Security Council. The current situation and development prospects of international organizations co-founded by Russia and China, from BRICS to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, will be analyzed.
Russia wants to know what China’s response will be to growing pressure from the West, which is urging Beijing to openly condemn the Russian military operation in Ukraine. China has always rejected these claims by the USA, the European Union, and Japan, but recently Russian companies have complained about numerous problems with suppliers of Chinese electronic components and above all with Chinese banks, which, fearing US sanctions, have blocked financial transactions with Russian credit organizations.
Lavrov and Wang will also discuss the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on rising tensions in both the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, where the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines have just held their first joint naval exercises. In response, on the same day as the US allied exercises, the Chinese Navy conducted several “combat patrol” operations in the disputed waters.
In short, the talks, which began on Monday, April 8, will include an “in-depth exchange of views” on a wide range of topical issues, on regional problems, including the Ukraine crisis and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, on Moscow and Beijing’s joint response to US anti-Russian and anti-China policies, and on rising tensions with Taiwan following the presidential election victory of William Lai, branded by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist.”