While the world waits to see the impact of a Trump presidency on great power politics, Russia’s top security official, Sergei Shoigu, told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday that Moscow and Beijing face an “urgent task” to work together to counter “containment” by the US.
Shoigu’s meeting with Wang in Beijing was the first between high-level Russian and Chinese officials since Donald Trump won the US presidential election last week.
China has deepened its “partnership with no limit” with Russia – including military and defence ties – since Moscow was isolated and sanctioned by the West over its invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
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But US policy on Ukraine might change under Trump, and that has introduced new variables to the great power triangle.
Trump, who had often expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticised the scale of US military and financial support for Kyiv and called for a quick end to the war. He is also expected to bring in a number of China hawks such as US Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Michael Waltz into his administration.
Shoigu and Wang leading their delegations during the China-Russia strategic security consultation in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua alt=Shoigu and Wang leading their delegations during the China-Russia strategic security consultation in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua>
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and Wang, China’s top envoy, discussed major security issues of mutual interest, reached new consensus, increased mutual trust and agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
According to Russian news agencies, Shoigu praised “unprecedented high-level comprehensive strategic collaboration” between the two countries and emphasised to Wang the need for China and Russia to “counter the ‘dual containment’ policy directed against Russia and China by the United States and its satellites”.
“Although it is not a military-political alliance like those formed during the Cold War, the relations between our countries surpass this form of interstate relations,” Shoigu was quoted as saying.
Wang noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin had met three times this year, saying the men’s strong leadership and their close ties had provided the bilateral relations “political advantages and ultimate guarantee”, the foreign ministry said.
