LAVROV: STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MOSCOW AND BEIJING WITHSTANDS WESTERN PRESSURE

BEIJING, MAY 20 /SRNA/ - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow and Beijing have built a strategic partnership strong enough to withstand Western pressure, pointing to expanding energy cooperation, growing technological coordination, and trade exceeding 200 billion dollars.

"The relations between Moscow and Beijing are based on a very solid material foundation. Trade between the two countries has exceeded 200 billion dollars annually for several years, with energy supplies forming the backbone of our cooperation," Lavrov said in an interview with Shanghai Radio and Television. Lavrov said that Russia is the largest supplier of natural gas to China via pipelines, as well as one of the main suppliers of liquefied natural gas and coal. "Recently, we reached a final agreement on the construction of the major gas pipeline ‘Power of Siberia 2’. We are also discussing the ‘Far Eastern route’," Lavrov said. He said that both countries are accelerating efforts to strengthen technological sovereignty and reduce dependence on the West amid sanctions and growing geopolitical pressure. "As recent events have shown, in which the West is revealing the true nature of its policy, China and Russia must, above all, rely on their own strength and on our fraternal relations," Lavrov said. He assessed that Western attempts to economically isolate Russia and China have failed, pointing to a sharp increase in Chinese exports to Russia. Lavrov added that the Russia–China partnership is increasingly based on self-reliance and long-term strategic solidarity.