China and Russia: a new Eurasian Security Architecture on the anvil?
During the visit Lavrov also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in what is being billed as yet another reflection of growing Sino-Russian ties in the face of Western criticism.
By IAR Desk
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi have announced that their two countries plan to shore up Eurasian security.
The announcement came during Lavrov’s two day official visit to Beijing on 8-9 April.
Reeling from a slew of Western economic sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2024, and with diplomatic isolation from the West, Russia has drawn close to China economically and for diplomatic support. China has emerged Russia’s largest trade partner for the year 2023 with bilateral trade amounting to $ billion; it is Russia’s top crude oil buyer. While China has said it is not helping Russia militarily, it has been supplying its Northern neighbor with banned items.
Lavrov’s visit to Beijing also came in the wake of the visit by Janet Yellen, US Secretary of Finance to Beijing, where she warned she warned that the Biden administration was prepared to sanction Chinese banks, companies and Beijing’s leadership if they assisted Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. According to the Voice of America, Yellen said of her China trip that she had “difficult conversations” about national security, including U.S. concerns that Chinese companies have been supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
At their joint news conference Wang repeated China’s calls for a ceasefire and “an end to the war soon.”
“China supports the convening at an appropriate time of an international meeting that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, in which all parties can participate equally and discuss all peace solutions fairly,” Wang said.
On the eve of his visit Lavrov, speaking to the Russian media, praised China’s proposed peace formula for Ukraine crisis as the most clear and reasonable. The plan has been rejected by the western countries as being nothing more than China’s own position on the conflict.
Lavrov’s visit also comes amidst growing tensions between China and the Philippines and with Taiwan., and Japanese premier Fumio Kishida’s visit to Washington where a summit meeting between heads of the US, Japan, and Phillipines will shortly take place.
Some of the main outcomes of the visit were: Russia would insist on the need to obtain the International Atomic Energy Agency’s assessment of the Kiev regime’s actions after the attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant;; Russia and China agreed to attract like-minded countries and start a Eurasian security dialogue; China advocates convening an international conference on Ukraine with the participation of Moscow and Kiev; China and Russia to work together to fight against attempts to disrupt the global supply chain; China opposes group confrontation, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. China believes that NATO should not extend its hands to this region; Wang Yi proposed the idea of ”dual confrontation” in response to the Western “double containment “; the Russian Foreign Minister and the Chinese Foreign Minister signed a consultation plan between the two foreign ministries in 2024;
