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Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China (second from right) and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia (second from left) hold talks in Moscow on Sept. 18. (Reuters/Yonhap)

China and Russia’s top diplomats pledged to step up cooperation in opposition to the US during a meeting in Moscow on Monday.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart that their two countries “pursue an independent foreign policy,” adding that their “bilateral cooperation does not target any third party, is not subject to disruption by any third party, and is not swayed by any third party,” according to a readout of the meeting released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

Wang was further quoted as saying, “In the face of mounting unilateral acts, hegemonism and bloc confrontation, China and Russia should [. . .] uphold true multilateralism and promote a multi-polar world through continuously strengthening strategic cooperation.”

China often uses the phrases “hegemonism” and “bloc confrontation” when criticizing the US.

Russia was even blunter in its emphasis on the two sides’ collaboration against the US. A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said Minister Sergei Lavrov and Wang “noted their similar positions regarding US actions on the international scene, including those with an anti-Russia and anti-China bias.”

The two sides also announced their plan to join forces with developing countries as part of a joint response to pressure from the US and other Western countries.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said that both sides had “spoke[n] highly of the historic expansion of BRICS membership, and expressed willingness to work with all BRICS member states to build a greater BRICS platform of solidarity, cooperation and common development.” During a summit in South Africa last month, the BRICS members expanded their membership substantially by agreeing to admit six new countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Lavrov similarly said the two sides had recently been “been quite successful in coordinating our actions with other Global South countries.”

Wang and Lavrov also discussed an anticipated summit next month between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov said that Xi had “paid a successful visit to Russia and held an important meeting with President Vladimir Putin, which charted the course for the future of Russia-China relations.”

“Russia is willing to work with China to take this as guidance to make good preparations for the next high-level exchanges between the two countries,” he added.

Additionally, the two foreign ministers shared views on the war in Ukraine. Russia said that China had expressed its agreement that Moscow should be included in all efforts to “resolve the crisis” in Ukraine.

China quoted Wang as saying that Beijing was “committed to the right direction of peace talks” and would “play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis in its own way.”

While the Chinese Foreign Ministry mentioned the two sides exchanging opinions on “regional issues” the same day, the Russian ministry’s press statement noted that Lavrov spoke about the “main results” of the recent visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

By Choi Hyun-june, Beijing correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]