China, Russia FMs to discuss Syria, Korea in Moscow

March 9, 2016, 8:40 am

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will discuss Syria and North Korean crisis with his Russian counterpart this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Wang is headed to Moscow on Thursday.

“The diplomats will discuss a wide range of actual items on the bilateral and international agenda with an emphasis on key issues of Russia-China cooperation… The sides will exchange views on pressing issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and efforts in settling the Syrian crisis,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The UN Security Council has imposed some tough sanctions against Pyongyang after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and launched a satellite, both of which broke existing sanctions.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang on Tuesday said the UN resolution on North Korea should be implemented in its entirety, which is not only about sanctions”.

Wang also warned that “obsession with sanctions” against Pyongyang is “irresponsible” and not conducive to peace in Korean peninsula.

Apart from North Korea, the Syrian peace process will also figure in talks between Wang and Lavrov in Moscow on Friday.

China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, have repeatedly called for a negotiated settlement to the Syrian crisis.

Beijing has said it will not be an onlooker in the Middle East, but will play a more active role without interfering in internal affairs of nations in the region.

“China’s policy on the Middle East is to facilitate peace talks with an objective and impartial attitude, instead of seeking a sphere of influence or proxies,” Foreign Minister Wang said in a veiled criticism of US policies on Tuesday.

At the press conference in Beijing, Wang praised “mature and stable” ties with its BRICS partner Russia.

“China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the solid foundation of mutual support and mutual trust, and the two sides have a strong desire to strengthen win-win cooperation,” said Wang.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met five times in 2015, setting the tone for stronger China-Russia relations.

“We are making active and orderly progress in various big projects,” Wang said, adding that construction has started on the eastern route of a massive natural gas pipeline. Cooperation on industrial capacity, equipment, manufacturing, agriculture and finance is also gaining momentum, the Foreign Minister stressed.

China and Russia have “strong economic complementarity” and “a significant desire to work with each other”. “Our cooperation is long term and strategic in nature,” he said.

In January this year, China hailed Russia’s updated security strategy which spoke positively of Russia-China ties. Incidentally, the document names the United States as one of the threats to Russia’s national security for the first time.

Russia’s trade turnover with China is almost thrice as big as that with the US.

TBP