Russia and China to accelerate restoration of face-to-face contacts and mutual tourism

On Thursday, February 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received China's First Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting the sides discussed the practical implementation of the agreements reached during the talks between the two heads of state on 30 December, 2022. Lavrov stressed that cooperation between Russia and China continues to develop dynamically in various directions. The Russian diplomatic chief praised the current state of the Sino-Russian relationship, but added that the restoration of face-to-face contacts, mutual tourism, human and humanitarian exchanges between the countries should be accelerated. He said this during the discussion on the recent lifting of restrictions related to COVID-19 in the PRC.

The two sides also discussed a number of topical issues on the bilateral, global and regional agenda. Sergei Lavrov and Ma Zhaoxu praised the high level of bilateral coordination within the UN, BRICS, SCO and other international platforms. The diplomats agreed on the need to protect the sovereignty, security and development interests of the two countries. Representatives of Russia and China reaffirmed their readiness to build a fairer, multipolar world order together.

In January, during a telephone conversation, the Russian foreign minister invited his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang to visit Russia.

On the eve, it was reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping may pay a state visitto the Russian Federation as early as this spring. In 2023, Russia and China intend to further deepen bilateral cooperation.

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