As Russia and the United States prepare for the set of January meetings on Russia’s demand for written security guarantees, the Chinese government has gone out of its way to reaffirm its support for Russia. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was asked yesterday about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s Dec. 27 comment that the West “does not want to have any rivals of comparable influence in the international arena,” to which he responded:
“We support Mr. Lavrov’s words. China intends to work with Russia to help intensify cooperation between all countries and create new incentives for universal peaceful development.” Zhao went on to forcefully state:
