MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. In response to the US policy of multilateral and multilevel deterrence Beijing is beginning to build a multi-tier defense in the military and economic sphere, while Russia will gain new opportunities as China's military-political and economic partner, Alexey Maslov, the director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, told TASS.

Commenting on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Beijing, the expert pointed out that at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward the idea of "double counteraction" in response to the West’s "double deterrence." Wang’s formula, says Maslov, is indicative that after the recent contacts between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and amid the tepid outcome of US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen's visit to Beijing, "China is beginning to build a multi-tier defense."

"The US has not given up on seriously containing China and, indeed, it is building up pressure on Beijing. Recent developments and, above all, the notable expansion of the AUKUS bloc (a trilateral military partnership of Australia, the UK and the US, with which Japan is expanding cooperation - TASS), aimed against China and against policies in Asia, indicates that the US has resorted to multilevel, multilateral attacks against Beijing. In this sense, China is obviously taking strategic measures. Russia may no longer be only an economic partner. It is also a military-political partner. I think that it is the noticeable increase in pressure on China that expands the possibilities of interaction with Russia now," Maslov said.

He recalled that for a long time China preferred to stick to a policy that implied the settlement of many issues exclusively through talks. "Now China is building both military defense and economic counteraction," he remarked.

In addition, the expert stressed that Lavrov's visit to Beijing also emphasized the paramount importance of the Eurasian security problem in the dialogue between the two countries.

"Now both Russia and China are facing a new wave of terrorist threats. This concerns not only the Crocus terrorist attack. Just recently there was a terrorist attack in Pakistan, where several Chinese workers were killed. It is obvious that both sides are going to develop anti-terrorist cooperation, first of all, in the SCO, where they are actively cooperating along these lines. Secondly, security in Central Asia, including cyber security. Security and sovereignty are the main issues being negotiated now," Maslov concluded.

Lavrov's visit

Lavrov arrived in Beijing on a visit on Monday. He held talks with his Chinese counterpart on a wide range of issues, in particular, touching upon cooperation within BRICS, Eurasian security and the Ukrainian crisis. Lavrov was also received by Xi Jinping. He expressed to the Chinese president Moscow's highest appreciation of Beijing's successes, while Xi noted the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries and conveyed his greetings to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.