China, Russia vow to work together to boost regional ties in talks on Asean sidelines
- Wang Yi highlights ‘important high-level contacts’ between Beijing and Moscow in coming months, while Sergey Lavrov calls meeting ‘timely’
- In separate talks, China, Russia and Indonesia agree to collaborate on food and energy security and ensure smooth supply chains
“Against the backdrop of historic changes in the world, we always follow the important consensus of our heads of state, firmly support each other in protecting fundamental interests … promote a multipolar world and democratisation of relations,” Wang said in the meeting, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.
Wang also said that “in the second half of the year, a number of important high-level contacts are expected”, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. “It is important for us to coordinate well, strengthen our bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and well implement the goals set by the leaders of our countries for the development of our relations,” Wang said.
The report quoted Lavrov as saying the talks were “timely”.
Lavrov said Russia would work with China to strengthen “Asean-centric mechanisms” while supporting the Southeast Asian alliance to play a constructive role in the Asia-Pacific region.