China yesterday said that mutual political trust with Russia has continued to deepen after Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) visited the country this week and met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov.
China is willing to work with Russia to implement its strategic partnership and promote further progress in their relationship, the ministry said in a statement.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin last year announced a strategic partnership in Moscow aimed at countering the influence of the US and which they said would have no “forbidden” areas of cooperation.
Ma also met with Russian deputy ministers of foreign affairs Andrey Rudenko and Sergey Vershinin during his Thursday to Friday visit, the statement said.
During his meetings, he exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation as well as international and regional issues of common concern, it added.
The statement comes after heightened tension between China and the US after the flight of a Chinese balloon over US airspace. Washington said it was a spy balloon, while China says it is an airship used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes.
The ministry’s statement did not mention Ukraine, where Russia has waged a military operation for nearly a year. China has refrained from condemning it or calling it an “invasion.”
Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow’s relations with China had no limits and, despite not being a formal military alliance, were of a much higher and broader nature.
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