BEIJING, January 27. /TASS/. Beijing highly appreciates Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks about Russian-Chinese ties, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a briefing on Thursday.
"We have taken note of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s positive remarks about relations between the two countries," he pointed out. "This reflects the high level of consensus between the two countries in terms of bilateral relations. China highly appreciates it," the diplomat added.
Zhao Lijian noted that "there are no limits to mutual trust and strategic cooperation between China and Russia, and the friendship between the two countries, which has been passed down from generation to generation, has no end." He also emphasized that the parties viewed each other as a foreign policy priority, which was a strategic choice based on long-term development goals aimed at providing benefits to the two countries’ people, ensuring global peace, stability and justice.
"Relations between China and Russia truly represent a new model of relations between major powers," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson went on to say. He also noted that China was ready to continue moving in the direction outlined by the two countries’ leaders, fully unleashing the potential and advantages of bilateral ties.
Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in an address to the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) that Russian-Chinese strategic partnership had reached a higher level than that of a regular military and political alliance. According to him, the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership was "a good example of what relations between countries should be like in the 21st century." Lavrov also said that the West sought to punish Russia and China, using various "improper tools," including "sanctions, media demonization campaigns, provocations by intelligence agencies and more".