TOPLINE
A Wednesday meeting in China between Russia and China’s foreign ministers amplified China’s continued signs of cozying up to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
KEY FACTS
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Wednesday in Tunxi, China, marking Lavrov’s second trip abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
- China and Russia are moving toward creating a new “just, democratic world order,” Lavrov said in a video released by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday and translated by AFP.
- A photograph tweeted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed Lavrov and Wang bumping elbows and including the #RussiaChina hashtag followed by a handshake emoji, further emphasizing the countries’ collaboration.
- Wang shared Lavrov’s signs of encouragement and said he left the meeting “more determined” to boost the relationship between China and Russia.
KEY BACKGROUND
China has consistently called for a peaceful resolution in Ukraine – Wang repeated this Wednesday – but has stopped short of condemning Russia for the invasion. The U.S. said earlier this month it believes Russia requested military aid from China, a report China has denied. China and Russia said in a joint statement on February 4 there is “no limit” to the relationship between the two countries, and Lavrov said Monday Russia’s relations with China are at their best level ever. In their joint statement early this year, China and Russia made it a point of saying that they had reaffirmed “their firm mutual support in protecting their fundamental interests, state sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and oppose the interference of external forces in their internal affairs.”
