The 16th round of Russian-Chinese consultations on strategic security issues was held in Moscow.
They were conducted by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the head of the office of the CPC Central Committee Commission on Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi.
According to RG, first there was a meeting between Patrushev and Yang Jiechi, who have known each other well for a long time, in a narrow one - on-one format. After that, the security consultations of the two delegations were held directly with the participation of representatives of a number of ministries and departments of the two countries. This is the first visit of such a high-ranking Chinese delegation since the pandemic. Yang Jiechi, as a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, oversees the entire foreign policy of the country.
According to the press service of the Security Council staff, the parties discussed a wide range of Russian-Chinese relations in various fields, including military and military-technical cooperation. Special attention was paid to the problems of international and regional security. For example, during the previous consultations, which took place in December 2020 in Shanghai, Patrushev said that "the Russian-Chinese link has confidently established itself among the key factors in maintaining international security and stability." However, according to him, this clearly does not suit the traditional centers of power - first of all, the United States and the so-called collective West led by them.
This time, Moscow also exchanged views on issues of strategic stability, as well as on the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. The sides noted the close or overlapping positions that Russia and China have on current international issues. Nikolai Patrushev and Yang Jiechi confirmed their readiness to further build up the entire range of bilateral relations, protect national, regional and global security, and defend a just world order with the UN playing the leading role. They also stressed that, despite the pandemic, the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation continue to develop steadily in all areas. After the security consultations were completed, Vladimir Putin, who is currently in Sochi, and Yang Jiechi had a telephone conversation.
Ivan Yegorov
