MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Moscow and Beijing are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder to defend each other’s core interests by strategically coordinating their efforts in the global arena, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the aif.ru media outlet.

The interview was posted on the Russian foreign ministry’s website on Tuesday.

"[Chinese Foreign] Minister Qin Gang, like his predecessors - member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo Wang Yi, who is in charge of foreign policy, Yang Jiechi and Li Zhaoxing before him, and many other outstanding Chinese diplomats, are my good friends and colleagues. Naturally, we share a feeling of camaraderie and are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder defending each other’s basic interests, strategically coordinating efforts in the global arena," he said.

The Russian top diplomat stressed that Russian-Chinese cooperation plays a "major role" in the formation of a more just, balanced, polycentric world order based on international law and the central role of the United Nations. With this in mind, the minister hailed the March 20-22 state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia, the first country he visited after being re-elected for another office term. "It was a landmark moment in the modern history of Russian-Chinese relations, which demonstrated the unprecedentedly high level and special character of bilateral cooperation," Lavrov added.

The minister recalled that the summit’s key accomplishments were reflected in "two major documents," namely the Joint Statement on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era and the Joint Statement on Pre-2030 Development Plan on Priorities in China-Russia Economic Cooperation.

"The Chinese leader’s visit had a strong international impact, literally dominating the global information agenda. This fact proves that the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership moved beyond a purely bilateral context a long time ago. No doubt that our clearly-worded shared positions on the present-day key problems have been heard in the world," Lavrov stressed.