(Beijing) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Russia from Monday to Thursday for security discussions, his ministry announced.
“At the invitation of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Wang Yi […] will travel to Russia to participate in the 18e session of the China-Russia Strategic Security Consultations,” indicates a press release published on the ministry’s website.
Long-time allies, China and Russia frequently boast of their “limitless” partnership and their economic and military cooperation set to intensify.
In a briefing, the Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that Wang Yi would meet his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, and that the two men would “focus their efforts on strengthening collaboration on the international scene”.
“There will be a detailed exchange of views on issues related to the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, as well as ways to ensure stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region,” a spokesperson said .
Ties between Beijing and Moscow have grown even closer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which China has refused to criticize.
Last month, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu visited Russia and Belarus, and called for closer military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.
In recent months, the two countries have carried out joint maritime and air patrols, which led South Korea to deploy fighter jets as a precaution.
In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, is due to go to China in October, one of his advisers announced in July.
China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the war in Ukraine, while offering Russia, increasingly isolated on the international stage, crucial diplomatic and financial support.