Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Sergey Shoigu, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, in Beijing on Friday. Xi emphasized that China and Russia are friendly neighbors and true friends. He stated during the meeting with Shoigu that the two sides should maintain close communication at all levels to fully implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and promote a long-term good neighborhood and friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination and beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
Shoigu conveyed President Putin’s warm greetings to President Xi and expressed that Vladimir Putin greatly values the sincere friendship and close contact with Xi Jinping.
When asked about media reports that Sergey Shoigu, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, arrived in Beijing on Friday for talks with the Chinese side, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, replied that China and Russia as comprehensive strategic partners maintain a close exchange at a high level.
Earlier, the Russian news agency TASS reported that the Secretary of the Russian Security Council had arrived in Beijing on Friday to discuss bilateral issues in the security field as well as global and regional problems with the Chinese side.
According to TASS, this was Shoigu’s second visit to China within the last three months.
Shoigu’s visit took place a day after a six-hour meeting between US and Russian delegations on bilateral issues at the US General Consulate in Istanbul on Thursday, without a subsequent press statement being issued. This meeting occurred just hours before the scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Selenskyi on Friday in Washington D.C.
During the Cold War, the US viewed the Soviet Union as the greatest threat. Richard Nixon’s success in drawing China to the US’ side weakened Moscow’s position. Today, however, it is the reverse: the US, across the political spectrum, now sees China as the greatest threat. Consequently, Beijing fears that the US is aiming to split Russia from China, thereby allowing Washington to focus on countering China’s rise. Moscow, however, has repeatedly stressed that its relations with Beijing are of a strategic nature and unshakeable.