China willing to deepen relationship with Russia: Senior official

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China's senior diplomat Wang Yi stated that any effort to impede the advancement of the two countries would fail. China is eager to strengthen its ties with Russia at all levels.

According to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry's website, Wang Yi told his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov during a phone discussion that China and Russia have a legal right to pursue development and revival.

Earlier last month, China was ready to work with Russia with the aim to promote shared interests and a common vision of fairer world order, the country's top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi said on September 12.

"China is ready to work together with Russia to fill high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries with new meaning, protect shared interests and promote a fairer and more reasonable world order," Yang said in Beijing.    

Yang who served as China’s foreign minister between 2007 and 2013 welcomed outgoing Russian Ambassador Andrei Denisov and spoke highly of his contribution to the Russian-Chinese bilateral ties.

He said their ties had been moving forward steadily along the right path under presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, with the two countries backing each other in securing their interests and cooperating at the international level.

The two powers also agreed to deepen defense cooperation with a focus on holding joint exercises, Moscow's Security Council said.

"The sides agreed on further military cooperation with a focus on joint exercises and patrols, as well as on strengthening contacts between the General Staffs," it said.

The announcement comes as Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev travels to China for security briefings and meetings with government leaders.