China urges Russia to improve coordination in resisting Western pressure

China's top diplomat Wang Yi has met with Russia's security chief Nikolai Patrushev on a visit to Moscow. Wang, who arrived in the Russian capital on Tuesday, urged improved coordination when it comes to resisting Western pressure. Patrushev said that in its attempt to hold on to global domination, the West was trying to deter Russia and China. ''The bloody events in Ukraine staged by the West are just one example of it,'' he said, adding, ''All that is being done against Russia and China and to the detriment of developing nations.''

Wang's visit to Moscow comes shortly after US President Joe Biden visited Ukraine unannounced on Monday to underscore US support for Kyiv. Wang reaffirmed China's support for Russia and said relations between Moscow and Beijing are ''solid as a rock'' and will ''stand the test of the volatile international situation.''

Russia's fear of diplomatic isolation
Patrushev stressed the need to strengthen ties. "Amid a campaign by the West to deter both Russia and China, it is particularly important to further deepen the Russian-Chinese coordination and cooperation in the international arena," Patrushev said. Following Wang's meeting with Patrushev, China said that both countries agreed on a path for maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and oppose the introduction of a Cold War "mentality." In its statement, China also added that both countries expressed their willingness to jointly practice "true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote the democratization of international relations and the multi-polarization of the world." Wang was expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday. The Kremlin said the Chinese diplomat may also meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip. The vists comes at a time when Ukraine and the countries that support it are looking forward to deepening Russia's diplomatic isolation at the UN. A draft resolution calling for Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine and a "just and lasting peace" is due to be voted on at the General Assembly later this week. Russia has urged the nations to vote against what it has labeled Kyiv's "unbalanced and anti-Russian" move.