Russian Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu met China’s foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Sunday, using the talks to restate Russia’s backing for China’s position on Taiwan and to discuss broader security issues.
In remarks carried by Russian state media and echoed in other reporting, Shoigu framed the Taiwan issue as a test of strategic alignment, warning that “ill-wishers” were destabilizing the situation in the Taiwan Strait. He said: “We see that China’s ill-wishers continue to destabilize the situation in the Taiwan Strait. For our part, I want to reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for Beijing on the Taiwan issue.”
He added: “We proceed from the fact that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China.”
The visit comes as the two countries continue frequent high-level engagements under what they have described as an increasingly close strategic partnership, while international diplomacy around the war in Ukraine remains active.