In his Jan. 1 interview with Xinhua and China Media Group, Foreign Minister Wang Yi that there is no limit to strategic cooperation between China and Russia. “The year 2021 is a year of special importance for China-Russia relations, as both countries will enter a new development stage. In developing China-Russia strategic cooperation, we see no limit, no forbidden zone and no ceiling to how far this cooperation can go,” Sputnik quoted him as saying in its coverage of the interview.
Wang pointed out that Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have spoken five times by phone last year and exchanged correspondence on multiple occasions. “Being each other’s strategic anchor, diplomatic priority, development opportunity and global partner, the two countries will expand and deepen cooperation from a higher starting point. Together, China and Russia will continue to be the example of good-neighborly and friendly relations between major countries, add impetus to global recovery, and underpin global strategic stability,” the minister said, and that Chinese-Russian relations reached “an historic high in all respects” despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus.
Wang also endorsed the bilateral cooperation around the pandemic, including in the development of vaccines, emphasizing that Russia was the first country to send medical aid to China when COVID-19 broke out.
The complete interview is posted to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1844079.shtml
