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Ignoring Western pressure, Russia-China signed a number of new agreements. PHOTO/Reuters
BEIJING – Prime Minister Russia Mikhail Mishustin visited the capital China Beijing, Wednesday (24/5/2023. This is the highest visit by a Russian official to China, since Moscow sent troops to invade Ukraine last year.
Mishustin said that “sensational pressure” from the West brought Russia-China relations to an “unprecedented high”. The two countries signed a series of agreements on trade and sports cooperation.
Mishustin made the comments during talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. He also met Chinese President Xi Jinping.
His visit comes after Russia and China reacted strongly to a weekend declaration by the Group of Seven nations that singled out the two countries on issues including Ukraine.
With the war in Ukraine in its second year and Russia increasingly feeling the brunt of Western sanctions, Moscow is looking to China for support.
“Today, relations between Russia and China are at an unprecedented high level,” Mishustin told Li after a rousing welcome in Beijing, as quoted by Al Jazeera. Trade between countries hit a record $190 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data.
“They are characterized by mutual respect for each other’s interests, a desire to jointly respond to challenges, which are associated with increasing turbulence in the international arena and sensational patterns of pressure from the collective West,” he continued.
Meanwhile Li praised the “comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between China and Russia in the new era”. He noted that bilateral trade has reached $70 billion so far this year, a figure that marks a year-on-year increase of more than 40 percent.
“The scale of investment between the two countries has also continued to increase. Large-scale strategic projects continue to develop,” he added. After the talks, ministers from the two countries signed a series of agreements on cooperation in trade in services and sports, as well as patents and the export of Russian millet to China.
(esn)
