China-Russia Photo: VCG

China's top diplomat Wang Yi assured Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that China will maintain a fair position on the Ukraine crisis, and that China and Russia are "trustworthy and reliable good friends" in a phone call late Monday. In return, Lavrov said Russia appreciates and welcomes China's constructive role in resolving the crisis, shattering Western narrative of a "rift" between the two sides after the Jeddah talks. 

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said new progress in the strategic and pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has been made since Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia in March.

He noted that bilateral trade has reached a new high, energy cooperation has been steadily carried out, and people-to-people exchanges have rapidly recovered. The most important task for both sides at present is to continue to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and promote the high-level development of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in the new era between China and Russia, Wang said.

On the Ukraine crisis, Wang emphasized that China will uphold a fair position on any multilateral occasion, make objective and rational observations, actively promote peace and encourage talks and seek political solutions. 

For his part, Lavrov said that Russia highly appreciates China's position on a political resolution to the crisis and welcomes China's constructive role in this regard. 

The phone call is a timely communication between China and Russia after the Jeddah talks, Cui Heng, a lecturer at the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization training base for international judicial exchanges and cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

It is appropriate for China to convey the dialogue's message to Russia, otherwise the dialogue would lose its value and become a mere Western "trial," Cui explained, noting that it demonstrates the unique role China has played in the Ukraine issue. 

Russia's positive response toward China's actions serves as a genuine rebuttal to Western sensationalism, the expert said, noting that China's neutral stance and its role in facilitating the exchange of views among all parties have always been appreciated by the Russian side. 

Chinese special envoy Li Hui attended the talk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia over the weekend where discussions were held on a feasible and durable peace settlement to the Ukraine crisis, as senior officials from China, the US, Europe as well as countries in the Global South met. 

Calling the Western hype of China's "possible shifts in tone" complete nonsense, experts stressed that China's stance has not changed, and the attendance signals a more mature timing for dialogue, slamming such Western rhetoric as only seeking to sow discord between Beijing and Moscow.

During the Monday phone call, the two sides also discussed the upcoming BRICS summit, which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 22 to 24 with a potential expansion of the bloc high on the agenda. 

According to Reuters, South Africa said last month that more than 40 nations had expressed interest in joining the organization, which aims to offset the perceived hegemony of the US-led West in global affairs. Of those, 22 had formally asked to join.

In light of this, Wang said Monday that the BRICS mechanism keeps pace with the trend of the times and demonstrates abundant vitality, and the process of an expansion is inevitable. China is willing to promote the healthy and vigorous development of BRICS, Wang said. 

The West has been hyping "disagreements" among member states of the BRICS regarding the expansion, and some even dialed up the opposition as saying it may crush the organization. 

Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, elaborated that the construction of any international organization is a gradual process, and it is normal for members to have different demands. 

However, the West has consistently exaggerated these differences in an attempt to weaken the strengths of BRICS countries, which is a typical conspiracy theory. The fact that all parties are able to engage in dialogue and address their differences indicates a positive trend, Zhang told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

Wang Yi's remarks are telling Russia and the world that although it still needs negotiation on the pace of the expansion, the overall direction is consistent, Cui noted. 

Another purpose for the Monday phone call is to prepare for upcoming high-level bilateral visits, experts said, as Russian media TASS confirmed earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China in October to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.