BEIJING: In a show of support for two of China’s largest neighbours, the Indian and Russian foreign ministers were assured by the Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang that bilateral ties would be strengthened and that “coordination and cooperation” would continue to develop.
Beijing is attempting to maintain stable relations with countries while relations with the West, notably Washington, remain contentious.
On Thursday, Qin met with other foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Goa, India. The SCO is a group of countries encompassing much of Eurasia.
Even while Beijing has declined to label Russia’s military actions as an invasion, the United States has long pushed China to assist in ending the conflict in Ukraine. Last week’s historic conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was the first direct communication between the two since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
During his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Qin stated that China is “willing to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to make concrete contributions to the political settlement of the crisis” in Ukraine
The two sides also agreed to safeguard the SCO’s “unity” by enhancing communication and cooperation with other SCO member nations, according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry on Friday.
In a separate meeting with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Qin stated that China was willing to strengthen “coordination and cooperation” on global and regional issues with India and put relations back on a “healthy” track of development.
Since 2020, when the armies of two countries battled on a contentious Himalayan border and 24 people were murdered, and relations between China and India have been strained. Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by India, was depicted on a map produced by Beijing last month which infuriated New Delhi.
Jaishankar was informed by Qin that the situation at the border was “generally stable”.
” We should learn from our past mistakes and successes, see our bilateral ties strategically and long-term, respect one another, share our knowledge, and succeed together, said Qin to Jaishankar.
