China-Russia ties: Vladimir Putin confirms he will meet Xi Jinping in Beijing for Belt and Road Forum next month

“We believe in merging our vision of creating a Greater Eurasian space with the idea of our Chinese friends as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and we have been quite good at synchronising our efforts,” he said, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

In an effort to offset trade pressure from the US, Beijing and Moscow have sought to forge close economic ties in recent years with pledges to deepen cooperation under both the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative and the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, an economic union of several post-Soviet states in Eurasia.

However, progress has been slow.

During the meeting in St Petersburg on Wednesday, Putin called for stronger ties with China in the face of global challenges.

At UN, Ukraine’s Zelensky says strip ‘criminal’ Russia of veto power

Xi’s visit to Moscow in March “served as a positive impetus for promoting our bilateral ties”, Putin told Wang.

“This relates to international affairs where … our positions coincide regarding the emergence of a multipolar world instead of some kind of rules-based order. No one has seen these rules and they keep changing every day depending on momentary considerations, and to benefit those who came up with this absurd formula.”

According to the Chinese readout, Putin told Wang his country had defeated economic sanctions by the West.

“We look forward to strengthening planning and deepening practical cooperation with China,” the Russian leader was quoted as saying.

In response, Wang said Beijing and Moscow “should strengthen multilateral strategic cooperation, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the two countries and make new efforts to promote the development of the international order in a just and reasonable direction”.

03:27

Russian lawmaker meets Xi in Beijing, saying Moscow can count on China’s ‘friendly shoulder’

Wang, who is also a Politburo member and director of the Communist Party’s Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, has been in Russia for the latest round of bilateral strategic security consultations since Monday.

Earlier in Moscow, he held separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the Security Council of Russia, as well as with Jadamba Enkhbayar, secretary of the Mongolian National Security Council.

On Tuesday, Wang joined a trilateral security meeting with Russian and Mongolian counterparts in Moscow, during which the three countries agreed to deepen strategic coordination to “ensure stability in the region”.

China and Russia strengthen cooperation as G7 pushes Beijing to rein in Moscow

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang urged the three neighbours to strengthen trilateral cooperation under their “inherent geographical advantages and deep-rooted traditions”.

Patrushev, meanwhile, warned there was a prospect of colour revolution attempts in the region, while Enkhbayar said his country was willing to strengthen political trust with its two neighbours.

South China Morning Post