Lavrov in China with Wang Yi
Today Lavrov finished two days of intensive talks with the Russian delegation’s counterparts in Beijing, intensive because there’s so much to cover in such a short time. Further work will be done by Deputy Ministers between now and the next major meeting that will likely be a Putin/Xi Summit. What follows are two documents, a statement by Wang Yi, “the ‘Five Always’ of China-Russia Relations,” followed by Lavrov’s remarks to the press and short Q&A session:
On April 9, 2024, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister of the Communist Party of China, jointly met with reporters after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing.
Wang Yi said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. Over the past three-quarters of a century, China-Russia relations have gone through ups and downs, endured strength, and become increasingly mature, tenacious and deep. The two sides regard each other as priority cooperative partners, uphold the spirit of permanent good-neighborliness, friendship and comprehensive strategic coordination, elevate bilateral relations to the highest level in the history of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era, and set an example of friendly exchanges and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighboring countries. Looking back on the past and looking forward to the future, in order to further consolidate and develop Sino-Russian relations, we must achieve "five always":
The two sides should always follow the strategic guidance of the diplomacy of the heads of state. President Xi Jinping and President Putin have grasped and mapped China-Russia relations from the depth of history and the height of the times, and have continuously injected new impetus into the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era. This year, the two heads of state will continue to maintain close exchanges through various means, and the two sides will follow the consensus reached by the two heads of state as the fundamental principle to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations.
The two sides should always adhere to the principle of "non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party". China and Russia have gone through ups and downs, and the two sides have summed up historical lessons and found a correct path to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations. Today's good relations between China and Russia are not easy to come by, and they deserve to be cherished and meticulously safeguarded by both sides.
The two sides must always stick to the right path in the face of major issues of right and wrong. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and major emerging powers, China and Russia should take a clear-cut stand on the side of historical progress and fairness and justice, actively respond to the universal aspirations and legitimate concerns of the people of all countries, advocate that all countries follow a new path of state-to-state exchanges based on dialogue, non-confrontation and partnership, oppose all acts of hegemony and bullying, oppose the Cold War mentality and inciting division and confrontation, and actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
The two sides should always pursue win-win results in cooperation. China and Russia will more actively seek the convergence of the interests of the two countries, give full play to their respective advantages, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, and achieve mutual achievements. China and Russia will continue to focus on the well-being of the two peoples, advocate inclusive economic globalization, jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, oppose "building walls and barriers" and "decoupling and breaking chains", work together to maintain the stability of international industrial and supply chains, and cultivate new drivers for global development and progress.
The two sides should always promote a multipolar world in an equal and orderly manner. Both China and Russia believe that the current world is undergoing great changes and the "Global South" is gaining momentum, and that it is necessary to uphold the equality of all countries, big or small, oppose hegemonism and power politics, oppose the monopoly of international affairs by a few countries, and earnestly promote the democratization of international relations. Both China and Russia support the central position of the United Nations in the global governance system, and the two sides will further strengthen international cooperation. Russia will assume the chairmanship of the BRICS this year, and China will take over the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year. The two sides will support each other's presidency and light up the "South moment" of global governance.
We should all hope that the progress to the “South moment of global governance” isn’t derailed by the Zionist megalomaniacs and their sponsors who through their sponsorship have revealed what they really are and their true values. Now for Lavrov’s statement:
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to once again express my gratitude to my colleague and friend, Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People's Republic of China, for the invitation and warm welcome to our delegation.
Yesterday and today, we held detailed and specific talks on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. As Minister Wang Yi has just noted, we paid special attention to the schedule of contacts at the highest level, since the diplomacy of the leaders, without exaggeration, is the central element of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. It is thanks to the diplomacy of the leaders (first of all) that bilateral relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and continue to develop dynamically in a very difficult situation in the world.
As I have already said, the focus was on the schedule of contacts at the highest level, the upcoming meetings of our leaders on the sidelines of various international events, including the BRICS summit in Kazan in October of this year and the SCO summit in Astana in June of this year.
We talked about contacts between the Foreign Ministry. In your presence, we have just signed another plan for inter-ministerial consultations for 2024 and briefly touched upon certain issues of intergovernmental cooperation in practical areas. This set of tasks will be considered in more detail during the upcoming five intergovernmental commissions headed by deputy prime ministers this year in preparation for the next regular meeting of the heads of government.
The issues that we are addressing in the economy, trade, investment, and the introduction of new technologies are directly related to the struggle to establish a just multipolar world order, where there is no place for dictates, hegemony, neocolonial and colonial practices, which are now being used with might and main, by the United States and the rest of the "collective West," which has unquestioningly submitted to the will of Washington.
China and Russia will continue to advocate the need to rectify this situation in international economic relations, advocate the democratization of these relations and a return to the principles that were once proclaimed and consist in the need to respect market processes, fair competition, the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence and many other things, which the West is now grossly undermining with its practical steps in imposing illegal sanctions against a number of countries, including Russia. But the same policy is beginning to be actively applied to the People's Republic of China. In particular, in the desire to limit its opportunities for economic and technological development, or, to put it simply, for the sake of eliminating competitors.
We reviewed the upcoming Russia-China Cross Years of Culture. Their opening is expected in the very near future. We also talked about other areas of humanitarian cooperation, including the preparation of new events, such as the Intervision International Song Contest, the Open Eurasian Film Award and a number of sporting events. Following the Games of the Future held in Kazan in February-March of this year, where Chinese athletes took an active part (a Chinese delegation was sent), the BRICS Sports Games, the Children of AsiaGames, and the World Friendship Games will be held. There are many sporting events that, unlike some others, will be based on the very ideals of Olympism that are enshrined in the Olympic Charter and which the current leadership of the International Olympic Committee, to its shame (I hope), despises and tramples on in favor of the same hegemons who are trying to preserve this role of hegemons by hook or by crook.
As dear Minister Wang Yi mentioned, we talked about the upcoming 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. Let me remind you that the Soviet Union was the first to recognise the People's Republic of China literally the day after its formation and actively cooperated in resolving the issue of restoring the Chinese state. We have agreed to prepare a series of events for this anniversary. We also discussed possible events for the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism next year. The peoples of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China made a decisive contribution to the defeat of Germany and militarist Japan.
For obvious reasons, we devoted a lot of time to coordinating our actions in the international arena. This coordination is based on a broad convergence of interests and approaches to key international issues. In the light of Russia's BRICS chairmanship, we focused on the prospects for the further development of this association, taking into account the inclusion of new members, the formation of a new category of partner countries and, in general, the prospects for the summit in Kazan, which will be held in October this year. We will consider the key issues that are being submitted for consideration by our leaders.
We talked about cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where, following Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China will assume the chairmanship in June of this year. There are good prospects for harmonizing the agendas of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on the development of this vast Eurasian region, on the one hand, and the BRICS programmes, which promote the same ideals and principles at the global level. In fact, it is promoting the interests of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America at a time when globalization, created according to the model of the West, is degrading and completely discrediting itself.
Of course, we discussed our cooperation at other venues, including the UN, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Everywhere we have established close, useful and productive ties.
We talked about the current state of affairs around the Ukrainian crisis. We are grateful to our Chinese friends for their objective and balanced position and for their readiness to play a positive role in the political and diplomatic settlement. The well-known "12 points" that China singled out in 2023 clearly formulate the need, firstly, to take into account the root causes of this conflict, and secondly, to seek to eliminate these causes in the efforts to resolve them, primarily in the context of ensuring equal and indivisible security, including in Europe and in the world as a whole. Our Chinese friends clearly state the need to take into account the legitimate concerns of all parties involved, primarily in the field of security. In this context, together with our Chinese colleagues, we confirmed the conclusion that any international events that not only do not take into account Russia's position, but completely ignore it and promote the absolutely empty, ultimatum "Vladimir Zelensky's peace formula" and thus are completely detached from any realities.
We talked a lot about the tasks of ensuring security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region against the backdrop of the US policy of creating closed military-political alliances of a narrow size there. They have an openly anti-Chinese and anti-Russian orientation and, among other things, are aimed at breaking the security architecture that has been developing around ASEAN for many decades within the framework of the very formats that this association has proposed to its partners, and which are based on inclusiveness, consensus, mutual respect and the rejection of unilateral actions. All this does not suit the United States and its allies. As I have already said, they are promoting bloc approaches here and declaring the need to introduce the North Atlantic Alliance into this region.
With regard to the situation around Taiwan, which is an inalienable part of China, we are united with Beijing in rejecting any outside interference, since this is an internal affair of the People's Republic of China. We talked about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We are interested in peace and stability in this region, as are our Chinese friends.
We discussed in detail the Middle East settlement and what is happening around the Gaza Strip. We also have common positions here, which we defend in the UN Security Council.
In a broader context, we exchanged views on the prospect of forming a new security structure in Eurasia against the backdrop of complete stagnation and self-destruction of Euro-Atlantic mechanisms.
The talks were held in the traditional atmosphere of friendship in Russian-Chinese relations and once again demonstrated the commonality of our countries' views on the main global processes and our desire to strengthen bilateral ties in the interests of peace and stability in the region and on the planet as a whole. We will continue the dialogue on the basis of the plans that we have just approved in your presence. Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to our Chinese friends.
Question: The "collective West" uses aggressive methods of "dual deterrence" against Russia and China in order to prevent their development and prevent the implementation of sovereign policy. Are you and your Chinese partners considering "double counteraction" retaliatory measures? What are these steps?
Sergey Lavrov: I won't tell you a big secret – yesterday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came up with the formula "double counteraction against dual deterrence." Our leaders, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, have repeatedly emphasised the determination of Russia and China to resist attempts to slow down the formation of a multipolar world and the long-overdue processes of democratisation and justice that are knocking on the door of the modern world order. The United States and its allies, in an effort to perpetuate their unjust position in the international system, are trying to stop us and the Global South. We remember how our leaders formulated the task of standing "back to back" and "shoulder to shoulder" in the path of attempts to slow down the objective course of history.
My colleague spoke at length about the specific economic problems created by the illegal policy of unilateral sanctions. We will resolve them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO. At a time when the United States and its satellites can at any time bring down stable financing chains, logistics, transport and investment chains, it is time to address the issue of ensuring that all these tasks can be considered and resolved within other structures – the transition to national currencies, talks about the need to create alternative payment platforms, including the decisions taken in this regard within the framework of BRICS. the activities of regional organizations, such as the SCO and CELAC, mentioned today.
The West has proved that the system of functioning of global financial and economic relations that it has created and offered to the rest of the world is unreliable. Because at any moment, while leading and holding the levers of this system in his hands, he can begin to "punish" anyone who disagrees with his neocolonial policy.
These processes are taking place in almost all spheres of public life. This applies to both the economy and security issues. We have a common goal of strengthening security in Eurasia. For a long time, there was a Euro-Atlantic security structure in the form of NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They are removing themselves from the list of relevant structures within which it is possible to conduct meaningful negotiations and agree on something on the basis of a balance of interests.
The task of forming Eurasian security suggests itself. President Vladimir Putin mentioned this in his address to the Federal Assembly. We have agreed with our Chinese friends to start a dialogue on this issue with the involvement of other like-minded people.
Question: I would like to focus on Ukraine's drone strikes on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The situation clearly calls for decisive action. What could be the answer?
Sergey Lavrov: As for another terrorist attack by the Ukrainian regime, this time on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Statements were made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our representative to the IAEA, and our representative to the UN Security Council. We are bringing this issue to special meetings of the IAEA Executive Board and the UN Security Council. We will insist on the need to get a direct assessment of the actions of the Ukrainian regime without any prevarications.
When we agreed to the permanent presence of IAEA experts at the ZNPP, we were guided, among other things, by the need to give an objective assessment of what is happening there, how the plant is managed, and how nuclear and security is ensured. We proceeded from the assumption that such attacks against the largest nuclear power plant in Europe would be recorded. Until now, provocations on the part of the Ukrainian regime, to our great regret, have only caused "regret" and "concern" in the statements of IAEA Director General Robert Grossi and his staff, without stating the obvious – where and by whom the terrorist strikes were prepared and carried out. I think that this time it will not be possible to evade responsibility.
We are interested in cooperation with the IAEA and the UN Secretariat, but we will seek from them an honest recognition of what is happening not only around the ZNPP, but also around Ukraine as a whole.
Until now, international officials' assessments of all aspects of what is happening around this country and within the framework of the special military operation in response to the hybrid war unleashed against us by the West at the hands of Ukrainians have been, to put it mildly, one-sided. This position needs to be corrected. Regrettably, it reflects the situation when the secretariats of many intergovernmental and interstate organizations are becoming subordinate to the West and oversaturated with employees of Western countries to the detriment of the equitable geographical representation of the world's majority countries. This issue was raised last year. We will actively promote the reform of this system. [My Emphasis]
What we’re seeing in too many areas is the increasing “privatization” [Lavrov’s term] of the UN that continues despite major Global South resistance. Do note Lavrov’s language use: “My colleague spoke at length about the specific economic problems created by the illegal policy of unilateral sanctions. We will resolve them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO.” That informs us about the current focus of work being done at those two organizations. The other key initiative is Global Security and how the members of such a structure are to be treated equally regardless of size, while no one nation of group of nations will act as hegemons. As I’ve written before, to make such a structure reality means two Blocs will be formed as it cannot be avoided due to the clear resistance shown by the Outlaw US Empire, its vassals, and their hegemonic structures—NATO, etc. This would appear to go against the need to move beyond the “Cold War Mentality,” of Bloc confrontation, but reality dictates its inevitability. IMO, over time realistic geoeconomic forces will cause the NATO/EU hegemonic structures to fracture and eventually dissolve. Yes, that will take time, and I see no way of its avoidance. IMO, the Global Majority’s peoples have learned to be patient as through their trials and struggles to defeat colonialism, which isn’t quite finished although the term Neocolonialism’s now being used; the reality is it’s that same old deal using somewhat newer tools.
As I alluded to above, the great danger currently comes from the megalomaniac Zionist peoples in West Asia as they’re clearly out-of-control. Somehow that conflict must be solved and the megalomaniac peoples neutralized so they no longer pose a threat to Humanity. I wish Lavrov or Yi had elaborated more on their discussions of that crisis, but all we’re told is they share the same position, although that position must have changed with the further gross violation of international law by the Genocidalists.
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