Beijing calls for 'safeguarding national interests, dignity' of China, Russia

ANKARA

China's chief foreign affairs advisor, Wang Yi, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Thursday at the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN foreign ministers' summit to discuss a variety of issues, including bilateral relations and cooperation.

Wang called for high-level exchanges between Beijing and Moscow to strengthen strategic communication, and "demonstrate major countries’ responsibilities" to safeguard their respective "national interests and dignity," apart from upholding "international fairness and justice," Beijing-based English daily Global Times reported.

China's top diplomat said his country is willing to work together with Russia to support the ASEAN "centrality," stay vigilant against external interference and support Indonesia and other group members to maintain the "hard-won" peace and stability in the region.

The meeting between the two top diplomats was held days after the issuance of a joint statement by the NATO leaders' summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, which said that relations between Beijing and Moscow “threatened the rule-based international order.”

“The deepening strategic partnership between the PRC (People’s Republic of China) and Russia and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order run counter to our values and interests,” the statement said on Tuesday.

The statement called on China to play a “constructive role” as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Reacting to NATO’s joint statement, a spokesman for the Chinese Mission to the EU said Tuesday night: "China also firmly opposes NATO's eastward expansion."

It said Beijing will "firmly defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests and strongly oppose NATO's eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific."