Photo: Website of Chinese Foreign Ministry

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Russian Foreign Minister  Sergei Lavrov in Azerbaijani capital Baku on Wednesday, with both sides discussing bilateral relations, multilateral cooperation and international and regional issues of mutual concern, according to an official release by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, congratulated Russia on successfully holding its State Duma elections and completing an important domestic political agenda.

Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held fruitful meetings in May and August this year, guiding the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era toward continued high-level development.

Noting that the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen next month, Wang expressed confidence that with the support of Russia and other parties, China's APEC host year will yield fruitful results, helping reinvigorate the historical process of building an Asia-Pacific community and injecting strong momentum into regional development and cooperation.

China stands ready to work closely with Russia and other members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia to practice genuine multilateralism and contribute to improving global governance, Wang said.

Lavrov said Russia-China relations and cooperation across various fields have achieved fruitful results under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, serving the fundamental interests of both countries.

Russia fully supports China's hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Lavrov said, adding that Moscow is willing to strengthen coordination with Beijing within multilateral frameworks including the UN, G20, APEC and BRICS to jointly uphold international fairness and justice.

The two sides also coordinated their positions on upcoming high-level exchanges and international and regional hotspot issues of mutual concern, reaching new common understandings, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.


Global Times