WASHINGTON, May 26. /TASS/. China is ready to expand its cooperation with Russia following the G7 summit in Hiroshima amid the deepening rift with Western countries, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing experts on international affairs.

According to the newspaper, the G7 summit underlined the deepening geopolitical divide between China and Russia, on the one hand, and the United States and its allies, on the other hand. "China is ready to double down on its relationship with Russia following the G7 summit because the central theme of that summit comprised not only Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also China and how the West should deal with it," Alexander Korolev, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Australia, told the newspaper.

Although authorities in China have been acting with "restraint and moderation," that restraint may fade as tensions with Western countries ratchet up, or against the backdrop of the "NATO-ization" of the Asia-Pacific, the WaPo said. "We have to realize that China is acting with restraint and moderation, and I don’t think that’s appreciated in the West," Lyle Goldtein, an expert on China, said, commenting on US attempts to strengthen NATO’s role in the region.

The Chinese embassy in Tokyo earlier urged the G7 countries to stop igniting hostile sentiments in Ukraine or making attempts to shift the blame on China. The Chinese diplomatic mission reiterated in a statement that Beijing takes "an unbiased and fair position" on Ukraine, while making efforts toward reconciliation and peace talks.

In their communique following the summit in Hiroshima, the G7 leaders, among other things, called on China to press Russia to stop its special military operation and withdraw its troops from Ukraine.