Met By The Russian Prime Minister, Chinese Prime Minister Promises China To Strengthen Joint Security Interests

UNSPLASH/Dominic ILLUSTRATION Kurniawan Suryaputra

JAKARTA - China wants to strengthen cooperation with Russia and defend its common security interests.

This was conveyed by Prime Minister Li Qiang to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin who was visiting on Monday, November 3.

In talks in the cities of Hangzhou, China, Li described Russia and China as "good neighbors and good partners who trust each other".

"Childs are willing to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with Russia and expand cooperation in various fields," Li said, as quoted by China's national broadcaster CCTV.

Mishustin is on a two-day visit to China which Russia's TASS news agency said would include talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday.

The talks are expected to focus on economic and technology cooperation as Russia is working on overcoming Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, China is facing tensions in relations with the United States regarding trade and technology.

Li and Mishustin held the final routine meeting between the heads of government of Russia and China in August 2024, when the Chinese prime minister praised the "new spirit" and "vitality" in relations between the two countries.

The Kremlin insists it considers Mishustin's visit "very important", but does not say whether President Vladimir Putin will send a message to Xi through his prime minister.

Putin and Xi signed a "infinite" partnership in February 2022.

Since then, Russia has turned to China to reduce the impact of sanctions, highlighting record bilateral trade, increased settlements in yuan, and deepening energy cooperation.

The proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which can distribute an additional 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year to China via Mongolia from the Russian Arctic gas field, is one step closer to completion earlier this year despite questions about price.