The Foreign Minister of China, Qin Gang has assured his counterparts in Russia and India of reinforcing and deepening the bilateral ties. The recent meeting of the SCO, the nations exchanged positive affirmations. In demonstrating its solidarity with the other two Asian nations, Qin Gang also promises that mutual ‘coordination and cooperation’ will only strengthen their relations.
Source: BBC
The Finance Minister of China met members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in India last Thursday. Beijing has been seeking to maintain positive and affirmative relations with the member countries in the move to balance between its Asian and Western counterparts. China took this step in the wake of rising tensions with the US in the recent few years.
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US on Russia-Ukraine war
China, who had openly refused to criticize the actions of Russia, has been urged by the US to meddle and help resolve the issue with Ukraine. On the contrary, China has also refused to claim the actions of Russia as a military invasion. Despite this, the country has tried to harmonize its balance as evident in the recent talk between the President of China, Xi Jinping and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. This initiative embarks on the dialogue of China with Ukraine in the context of war. A Chinese ministry official added that China is willing to strengthen its ties with the Asia-Pacific region.
SCO
Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a bloc of nations which consists of members of Europe and Asian countries. It includes nations like Russia, India, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. According to an Indian official at the SCO meeting, “Iran and Belarus will join the bloc in July this year at the summit in New Delhi”.
Russia
In talks with the Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Qin Gang suggested that China is willing to maintain both communication and coordination with Russia. The comment refers to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Source: Reuters
In the words of Qin Gang, who spoke at the SCO meeting with Russia, “China is willing to coordinate with Russia to reach tangible contributions to the political settlement”. Russia has also agreed to strengthen bilateral ties with China as well as other members of SCO. According to an official from the Chinese ministry, “Russia agrees to maintain the SCO bloc’s unity”.
India
In another meeting with Indian Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister, the latter reaffirmed India about its initiatives and goal of cooperation with India on international as well as regional issues. He also suggested that China will aim to make progressive developments with India, in order to make a healthier connection. The relationship between India and China went sour in 2020 due to clashing between the troops of both sides, in the disputed region of the Himalayan border. There had been 24 casualties in the clash, and the relationship between the two countries has only deteriorated since then. Moreover, the recently published map of China claims Arunachal Pradesh as a part of Tibet, a region controlled by China.
Source: Reuters
According to Qin, “The situation between the troops at the border is stable”. While speaking to S. Jaishanakar, Gang expressed those bilateral relations should be looked at from a long-term perspective, suggesting that the two countries should learn from history.
