One Year of War... China and Russia Rapidly Align "Opposing US Hegemony"

Joint Training in South Africa Starting from the 23rd

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Russia and China have demonstrated rapid rapprochement ahead of the first anniversary of the Ukraine war. The two countries plan to conduct joint military exercises in South Africa to mark the first anniversary of the conflict.

According to major foreign media on the 22nd (local time), Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, and Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, agreed during their meeting in Moscow that the comprehensive strategic partnership must be strengthened in times of crisis.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that during this meeting, China and Russia agreed to continue enhancing cooperation within international multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and firmly oppose hegemonism and collective confrontation.

The opposition to collective confrontation is interpreted as criticism of the United States’ actions, which are countering China and Russia by leveraging alliances in the Indo-Pacific region and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The emphasis on cooperation within the UN is seen as reinforcing the expectation that the two permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power will continue to confront the West, including the United States, over discussions responding to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations.

Although the United States was not directly named, China and Russia, sharply at odds with the U.S. over issues such as reconnaissance balloons and weapons support, are rapidly drawing closer.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi said at the meeting, "China wishes to maintain a good development posture of the new type of major-country relations between China and Russia regardless of how the international situation changes."

Wang Yi further emphasized, "China wants to jointly oversee high-level exchanges and visits with Russia, reactivate dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, and further develop bilateral relations."

In response, Minister Lavrov said, "Russia attaches great importance to Russia-China relations," adding, "We hope to properly implement the important joint understandings agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries, continuously consolidate and develop the Russia-China strategic cooperative partnership."

He continued, "We expect the full resumption of exchanges across various fields and further advancement of practical cooperation between the two countries," and added, "We want to strengthen cooperation with China on the international stage and firmly support each other on issues concerning our core interests."

According to Sputnik News and others, Wang Yi began the meeting with Lavrov by saying, "We are ready to exchange views on topics related to the mutual interests of the two countries," and "We hope to reach new agreements during this meeting." However, he did not specify what those agreements might be.

Earlier that day, Wang Yi visited President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. At the meeting, President Putin said, "Russia expects China and Russia to implement the planned talks between President Xi Jinping and myself." Wang Yi responded, "President Xi sends his regards," reaffirming the intention to strengthen the strategic partnership by stating, "We are ready to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The day before, after arriving in Moscow, Wang Yi held talks with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council and a close aide to President Putin. At the meeting, Wang Yi said, "The relationship between the two countries is mature and solid," and "We will overcome any challenges arising from the changing international situation." He also stated, "The two countries agreed that new joint measures must be taken to ensure each other's security."

Secretary Patrushev said, "Developing the strategic cooperative relationship with China is an unconditional priority of Russian foreign policy," and "We want to reaffirm Russia’s firm stance supporting China on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Tibet."

Meanwhile, Russia and China plan to conduct joint naval exercises in South Africa starting on the 23rd to mark the first anniversary of the war. To this end, a Russian frigate equipped with the hypersonic missile Zircon arrived in South Africa on the day, according to TASS and other agencies.

The Russian Navy stated that the upcoming exercises, the first joint drills since November 2019 in the Cape Town waters after two years and three months, will not include test launches of the Zircon missile.

Captain Oleg Gladky of the Gorshkov frigate said at a press conference held in Richards Bay that afternoon, "Due to the nature of this exercise, hypersonic weapons will not be used."

In response to Western criticism of the exercises conducted on the first anniversary of the war, the three countries?China, Russia, and South Africa?dismissed the criticism, stating that the military exercises among friendly nations focus on responding to maritime security threats and maintaining regional peace and stability.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.