Global Courant 2023-05-05 08:06:00
BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang assured his Russian and Indian counterparts of deepening bilateral ties, promising that “coordination and cooperation” will only grow stronger, showing solidarity with two of China’s biggest neighbors.
Qin met with other foreign ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in India on Thursday.
It is a bloc of nations that covers most of Eurasia, with Beijing trying to maintain stable relations with countries in the region as ties with the West, especially Washington, remain strained.
The United States has long urged China to help resolve the war in Ukraine, even as Beijing has refused to denounce Russia’s military moves as an invasion.
In a landmark event last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke directly with Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine.
Meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the SCO meeting, Mr Qin said China is “ready to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to make tangible contributions to the political settlement of the crisis” in Ukraine.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen communication and coordination with other SCO member states and maintain the “unity” of the bloc, according to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry on Friday.
They also agreed to strengthen coordination in Asia-Pacific, the ministry said, without giving details.
Currently, the bloc consists of Russia, India, China, Pakistan and four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iran and Belarus are expected to be included in the SCO at a summit in New Delhi in July, an Indian Foreign Ministry official said.
In a separate meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Mr Qin said China is ready to deepen “coordination and cooperation” with India on international and regional issues and return ties to a “healthy” development trajectory.
China’s ties with India have deteriorated since 2020, when their forces clashed on a disputed border with the Himalayas and 24 people were killed.
Last month, Beijing published a map showing Arunachal Pradesh, claimed by India, as part of Tibet, angering New Delhi.
Mr Qin told Mr Jaishankar that the situation at the border is “generally stable”.
“We must draw experience and lessons from history, understand bilateral relations at strategic height and long-term perspective, respect each other, learn from each other and achieve mutual success,” Qin told Jaishankar. REUTERS
