The key task for Russia and China is to counter any attempt by the United States to contain their countries, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin told China’s foreign minister on Tuesday.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose steep tariffs on China and other countries, raising fears of a trade war and the United States casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat.
China’s Xi Jinping and Putin in May pledged a “new era” of partnership between the two most powerful rivals of the United States, which they cast as an aggressive Cold War hegemon sowing chaos across the world.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing that the strong relations between Moscow and Beijing were a stabilising influence on the world.
“I see the most important task as countering the policy of ‘dual containment’ of Russia and China pursued by the United States and its satellites,” Shoigu was quoted as saying by Russian state news agencies.
Shoigu and Wang Yi are holding their annual security consultations, following through on decisions arrived at by their respective leaders earlier this year. The idea is to coordinate positions on bilateral relations, enhance strategic communication and understanding on the strategic concerns of both countries.
The two leaders will also exchange views on “issues of combating extremism, terrorism and transnational crime,” the Global Times said quoting a Tass report.
Their discussions will also touch upon the potentially new security policies of the new US administration under President-elect Donald Trump, their impact on the world as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Xi and Putin believe the post-Cold War era of extraordinary U.S. dominance is crumbling after the perceived humiliations of the 1991 Soviet collapse and centuries of European colonial dominance of China.
With Reuters inputs
