Experts: Lavrov trip eyes global agenda

As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov kicked off his two-day official visit to China on Monday, observers said the two neighbors are poised to send another clear signal about their strengthened collaboration on global affairs and commitment to supporting each other’s core interests.

During Lavrov’s visit, Beijing and Moscow will exchange views and coordinate their positions on the development of bilateral relations with this year being the 75th anniversary of the establishment of ties, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

Also, the two sides will discuss cooperation in various areas and “regional and international issues of common concerns”, she added.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are expected to talk on joint work within frameworks such as the United Nations, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and G20.

Under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, the two countries have shown strong resilience in recent years in their cooperation in areas such as economy, trade and international affairs, observers said.

As a symbol of the close friendship and political trust between the two leaders, President Xi Jinping sent a message to Vladimir Putin on March 18, congratulating him on his reelection as Russian president.

Staunch support

The two countries “have been staunchly supporting each other in their efforts to champion their own national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”, said Liu Xianzhong, director of the Department of Russian History and Culture at the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Also, Beijing and Moscow support each other in pursuing their own path for development, seeking growth and prosperity and securing success of their own tasks, Liu said.

China has been Russia’s top trading partner for 14 consecutive years, and Russia ranks as China’s eighth-largest trading partner.

Last year, the bilateral trade volume of commodities rose 26.3 percent year-on-year to $240.11 billion.

Mao on Monday also responded to a question about recent allegations by the United States linking China-Russia interactions to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in terms of export control of military-civilian dual-use items.

“China has always exercised control over the export of dual-use items in accordance with the law. The relevant country should not smear or attack the normal stateto-state relations between China and Russia, should not damage the legitimate rights and interests of China and Chinese enterprises, not to mention shifting the blame to the Chinese side and stirring up bloc confrontation,” she said.

“China is not a creator of or a contracting party to the Ukraine crisis, we have not and will not do anything to profit from it.”