MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Monday it wanted to take ties with China to a “new level” and looked forward to face-to-face talks with Beijing leaders when a Russian newspaper reported that China’s top diplomat would visit Moscow in February.
“We are convinced that the potential for Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation is still far from being exhausted,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia aims to hit its target of $200 billion in trade between the two countries ahead of schedule and “significantly deepen” its ties with Beijing, he said.
The West is watching with some trepidation the growing “no bounds” partnership between emerging superpower China and natural resource titan Russia, though it’s unclear how deep the partnership runs.
China has refrained from condemning Russia’s operation against Ukraine or calling it an “invasion”, in line with the Kremlin, which presents the war as “a special military operation”.
Political cartoons about world leaders
After the West imposed the toughest sanctions in modern history on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin says Russia is turning to Asia, and China in particular, after centuries of looking at the West as the melting pot of economic growth, technology. and war
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s comments came shortly after Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reported that China’s head of diplomacy Wang Yi would visit Moscow in February.
According to the newspaper, Wang may visit Putin during his stay. The purpose of Wang’s visit is unclear, but it may be related to preparations for an upcoming visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping, he added.
When asked about Wang Yi’s possible visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during a regular briefing that she was not yet aware of such a meeting.
(Writing by Caleb Davis; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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