Beijing, Moscow pledge to boost security cooperation

Officials attending the latest round of the China-Russia strategic security consultation in Russia as well as senior delegations from both countries pledged closer security cooperation on Tuesday.

China and Russia will continue to enhance strategic communication and coordination under the mechanism of bilateral strategic security consultation, said Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, met Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow.

Yang said Sino-Russian relations continued to develop at high levels under the strategic planning by President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

“The two presidents have met twice this year, and reached important agreements,” Yang said.

Yang called on the two sides to implement the consensus reached by their leaders, strengthen strategic communication, enhance political trust and expand cooperation.

Yang also stressed the importance of boosting global and regional stability according to the rules and regulations of the United Nations Charter.

Patrushev said during the consultation that the Russian government is willing to continue close, high-ranking contacts with China and deepen strategic coordination.

He said both countries should push for more fruitful cooperation and together maintain international order.

The delegations also discussed a series of international and regional issues such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and the Iran nuclear issue.

Alex Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the two neighbors have also seen their interests become increasingly overlapped in areas ranging from security in Central Asia to the future of Afghanistan, Africa and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“Both countries want to keep each other in the loop, explain their intentions and cooperate when possible”, he said.

China will be able to provide a lot of resources to help some Russian companies to overcome current difficulties amid sanctions imposed by the United States, Gabuev said.