Lavrov to discuss preparations for Russian-Chinese summit in Beijing - Russian foreign ministry

BEIJING, April 28. /TASS/. Preparations for a Russian-Chinese summit meeting, as well as a wide range of topical global and regional problems will be in focus of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Beijing on April 28-29. During his stay in China, Lavrov will be received by Chinese President Xi Jinping and will have talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Apart from that, the Russian top diplomat will take part in a ministerial meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Agenda of bilateral talks According to the Russian foreign ministry, "one of the main aims of Lavrov’s visit is preparing for the upcoming Russian-Chinese summit." The ministers are expected to pay special attention to cooperation in international affairs which is an important part of strategic partnership between the two countries. "In modern conditions, Moscow and Beijing confirm respecting each other’s interests and concerns, thus demonstrating that their bilateral relations are not opportunistic," the ministry stressed. "Russia and China support forming a fair and democratic world order based on collective approaches, equality, universally recognized norms and principles of international law." Apart from that, the Russian foreign minister is expected to discuss in Beijing the schedule of further major contacts between the two countries. The Kremlin administration chief, Sergei Ivanov, said during his visit to China in March that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to visit China in June 2016. China’s Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang will pay an official visit to Russia in the autumn. The 21st regular meeting of the two countries’ heads of government will be held as part of his visit to Russia. The meeting will be preceded by sessions of four inter-governmental commission, namely on the preparation of regular meetings of heads of government, on energy, investment and humanitarian cooperation at the level of deputy prime ministers. Contacts between the two countries’ parliaments are also planned. Another round of bilateral consultations on strategic security is also on the schedule of contacts. Another important topic for discussion will be preparing for the upcoming SCO summit which will take place in Tashkent in June this year. "The sides will also consider issues of expanding mutual coordination in the framework of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in the interests of improving the activities of this multilateral dialogue mechanism," the ministry said. Russia and China attach greater significance to cooperation within many multinational formats, including the Group of Twenty, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the RIC (Russia, India, and China), proceeding from the necessity to boost the efficiency of joint efforts to address global challenges and ensure sustainable development. "The ministers will exchange opinions on a broad range of pressing global and regional problems, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, in the Middle East and North Africa, in Afghanistan, as well as issues of implementing the Joint Plan of Action on settling the situation around the Iranian nuclear program," the foreign ministry said. "Russian and China have close or identical approaches to the majority of international problems and will continue close coordination of their foreign policy steps." Unprecedented cooperation The Russia-China relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation have entered an unprecedented high level in the recent years, the Russian foreign ministry noted. The two countries maintain an efficient diversified mechanism of dialogue that embraces practically all spheres of cooperation. An extra impetus to the development of bilateral ties is given by regular top-level contacts. China’s President Xi Jinping paid a visit to Russia in 2015 to attend the Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in WWII. In September 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit to Beijing as a foreign guest at the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Victory. Apart from that, the two leaders met on the sidelines of BRICS summits in Russia’s Ufa, of the Group of Twenty meeting in Turkey’s Antalya, and the Climate Summit in Paris. In December 2015, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited China to hold the 20th regular meeting of the two countries’ heads of government. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Foreign ministers from member countries of The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will discuss security problems, anti-terrorism efforts and other pressing international topics. According to the Russian foreign ministry, the ministers will also discuss the current state of and prospects for strengthening practical cooperation between the CICA member countries. Results of the discussion will be reflected in a final declaration. "We consider the CICA as a useful mechanism of multilateral cooperation on the implementation of measures of trust in the military political, economic, environmental and humanitarian spheres, and in the area of countering new threats and challenges," the ministry said. Russian stands for developing cooperation between the CICA and regional organizations and forums as part of network diplomacy. Memorandums of understanding have been signed with the International Organization for Migration, the Organization for Economic Cooperation, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and between the CICA Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The CICA Secretariat is looking at signing a protocol with the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-terrorism Structure. The CICA member states are currently 26 countries, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan. Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the United States, the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries enjoy observer status. Meetings of the CICA heads of state and government and of CICA foreign ministers are held every four years. The previous ministerial meeting was held in Kazakhstan’s Astana in September 2012. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the CICA summit in China’s Shanghai in May 2014. Read more