In an extensive and wide-ranging interview that Sergey Lavrov granted to Dmitri Simes and Vladimir Nikonov for Channel One’s program “Bolshaya Igra” ("The Great Game"), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov touched on the China-Russia relationship. He said that the harsh line the U.S. is taking against both Russia and China has brought them closer, although neither is thinking in terms of a military alliance. “Such an alliance is an alliance of the Cold War era,” Lavrov said. “I would now think in terms of the modern era, when multipolarity is being formed. In this sense, our relationship with China is completely different from that of a classic military alliance. Maybe they are even closer in a certain sense.”
“The Chinese, like the Russians, are a very proud nation,” Lavrov said. “They are probably historically more patient. In the national code, in the genetic code of the Chinese nation, there is an orientation towards the historical perspective. They are never restricted by 4-5 year electoral cycles. They look ahead: ‘a big journey begins with a small step’ and many other aphorisms of Chinese leaders say that they value a goal that is not just on the horizon, but beyond the horizon. This also applies to the reunification of all Chinese lands — consistently, without haste, but purposefully and persistently. Those who talk with China, as well as with Russia, ‘paying lip service,’ as we say, speaking down to us, with insults — they are useless politicians and strategists. If they need it in order to show their ‘coolness’ in the next parliamentary elections in a couple of years, what is the sense of that?
“By and large, no one should be rude. And with such great civilizations as Russia and China, the conversation goes downhill, if we are told what to do. If we want to say something, then we are asked to ‘hold up.’ This was the case in Anchorage when it came to human rights. A. Blinken said that there are many violations in the United States, but the subtext was clear — they would sort it out themselves and are already sorting it out. But when it came to Xinjiang Uighurs, Hong Kong, Tibet, etc. it was a different story. It’s not just a lack of diplomatic skills. It’s much deeper. In China, I felt that this patient nation, which always defends its interests while promoting a willingness to compromise, was put in a hopeless situation….
“During my [March 23] visit to China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and I adopted a Joint Statement on Certain Problems of Global Governance, where we emphasized the unacceptability of violating international law, its substitution by some secretly elaborated rules, interference in internal affairs and, in principle, everything that contradicts The UN Charter. There are no threats there. The documents signed by the leaders of Russia and China always emphasize that bilateral strategic interaction and multifaceted partnership does not exist against anyone, but exclusively in the interests of our peoples and countries. It develops on a clear, objective basis of coincidence of interests. We are looking for a balance of interests, we have many areas where it has been found and is being implemented for the benefit of all of us,” Lavrov said.
