Li Zhanshu, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, was in Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum where he met Putin on Wednesday, then traveled to Moscow Friday where he met with members of the state Duma. Both LI and Russian lawmakers that he met with vowed to oppose the double containment of Russia and China being pursued by Global NATO..
In the meeting with State Duma factions, Li said Russia and China will fight together against NATO expansion and the “double containment” of Moscow and Beijing. “They (NATO countries - TASS) hammer together bloc structures as well as implementing an Indo-Pacific strategy precisely in order to contain our development between two oceans - the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. From this standpoint, the pertinence of bolstering our strategic interaction will only grow and we will battle together their hegemony and the policy of force,” he noted.
The official noted that the joint counteraction to American hegemony, harassment and the policy of force is an important direction in strategic interaction of both countries. “We see how nowadays, the Americans view Russia and China as their strategic rivals in order to maintain its domination worldwide, and implement the double containment against us. This is about unchecked NATO expansion eastward and profound meddling in the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as their attempt to reduce our strategic space on the Eurasian continent,” he added.
Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, said that Russia is adamant that Taiwan is an integral part of China, adding that the Western countries were trying to retain “dominance in global politics and the economy” that was slipping away from their hands, and that the United States had set a course towards suppressing any independence. “They decided to convert Ukraine into a threat to Russia. In the situation involving Taiwan the Americans have demonstrated the same policy in the context of plans to supply weapons to the island and visits by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and congress members,” Matviyenko stressed.
Li noted that the important cooperation between the legislative bodies of China and Russia was an important forum for implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state. He called for regular exchanges between the two bodies and to create a regular exchange mechanism and platform for their exchanges. The heads of the five major party groups in the State Duma pledged to consolidate the foundation of China-Russia friendship and pragmatic cooperation.
In his Moscow visit, Li visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the former residence of V.I. Lenin.
