China’s priority is to develop partnership ties with Russia - foreign ministry

BEIJING, March 14. /TASS/. The priority of China’s diplomacy is to develop relations of strategic partnership with Russia, the country’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday. "The development of relations of all-encompassing strategic partnership and coordination between Russia and China is the priority of diplomacy of the People's Republic of China," the diplomat said in comments to last week’s visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Russia. During his visit, China’s top diplomat held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and was also received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sides exchanged views on bilateral relations and also regional and international issues of mutual interest, the spokesman said. The sides discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula and said they do not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. They also voiced support for resuming six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear problem. The talks also focused on the US plans to deploy the THAAD missile defense systems to South Korea. "They agreed that deployment by the American side of this system to the Republic of Korea is beyond the true demands of the peninsula in the defense sphere and does direct damage to strategic interests of China and Russia in the defense sphere and also threatens strategic balance in the region," he said. "Both sides have common position and concerns about this issue," the diplomat added. Read more