On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed two joint strategic documents aiming to boost the two global powers' economic and diplomatic partnership. 

Uphold international norms as per UN chart

During their formal summit in Moscow on Tuesday, both leaders discussed continuing to uphold the commitment to abiding by norms of international relations, as defined by the UN Charter.

"China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, will continue standing firmly together with the international community to defend the basic norms of international relations based on the goals and principles of the UN Charter," Xi told a joint news conference alongside Putin.

Russia and China will boost cooperation to fight "color revolutions" and the so-called "three forces of evil," including the Islamic Movement of East Turkestan and organized crime.

NATO must comply with its defensive nature

According to the joint statement on developing comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, Russia and China demand that NATO must uphold its own duties regarding the regional and defensive nature of the alliance.

'The parties are insisting that NATO must strictly comply with its obligations concerning the regional and defensive nature of the organization. [The parties are] calling on NATO to respect the sovereignty of other countries, their security and interests, civilized as well as historic and cultural diversity, to objectively and without bias deal with the peaceful development of other nations," the statement said.

The two countries expressed their opposition to attempts by separate countries to turn outer space into an arena of armed confrontation.

"Underlining the importance of the joint statement by the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states on the prevention of nuclear war and the prevention of an arms race, sides reiterate that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be unleashed," the statement read.

Russia and China declared that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be conducted.

"Underlining the importance of the joint statement by the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states on the prevention of nuclear war and the prevention of an arms race, sides reiterate that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be unleashed," the statement read.

Additionally, Moscow and Beijing urged nuclear powers to uphold agreements made amongst nuclear states.

Stronger cooperation in SCO, BRICS, and G20 platforms

After the talks were concluded, Xi said that both China and Russia vowed to increase cooperation and increase multilateralism through various existing multilateral mechanisms such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and G20 platforms.

"We will strengthen cooperation as part of multilateral mechanisms, including BRICS, SCO and G20, and promote real multilateralism," Chinese President Xi Jinping said after his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

"I hope to maintain close contacts with President Vladimir Putin in various forms to ensure dynamic and long-lasting development of the Chinese-Russian relations," he added.

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Read more: Putin, Xi highlight boosting Russian-Chinese cooperation

In recent months, the BRICS  bloc has expanded to include a number of new members, including Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

BRICS members currently account for 30% of global gross output and 40% of the global population.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),  founded by China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in 2001, forms the world's biggest regional market with eight official and four observer members. 

The organization accounts for 40 percent of the world's population and 28 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). 

Russia and China stated their intention to intensify communication over the WTO's agenda, particularly its reform.

Russia and China declared their support for the African Union's admission to the G20 in order to provide poor nations and emerging market economies a "greater voice" on the global stage.  

"The parties are determined to strengthen coordination within the G20 and other multilateral mechanisms ... to improve global economic governance in a fair and rational manner so that it better reflects the structure of the world economy, which includes increasing representation and giving greater voice to emerging market economies and developing countries. The parties support the accession of the African Union to the G20," a joint statement published by the Kremlin reads.

Russia, China reaffirm importance of full resumption of Iranian nuclear deal

In a joint statement released by the Kremlin on Tuesday, Russia and China stated their support for the full restoration of the Iranian nuclear accord.

"The parties reaffirm the importance of promptly resuming the full and effective implementation of the Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Program and UN Security Council Resolution 2231, in connection with which they called on all parties concerned to take political decisions that would contribute to a positive outcome of negotiations on the resumption of the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," the statement read.

🇨🇳🇷🇺Putin: "The two policy statements we have signed fully reflect the special nature of Russian-Chinese relations, which are at the highest level of development in history, and are an example of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction." pic.twitter.com/dT9NRBpz7j

— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) March 21, 2023

Settling the conflict in Ukraine

The joint statement also states Russia's positive reception to China's readiness to contribute to the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

"Russia welcomes China's readiness to play a positive role in the political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and the constructive notions set out in the document drawn up by the Chinese Side 'On China's position on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," the statement said.

On February 24, China issued a 12-point position paper on Ukraine that highlighted all the steps required to reach a "political settlement". 

These include respecting the sovereignty of all countries, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, resolving the humanitarian crisis, protecting civilians and POWs, keeping nuclear power plants safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports, stopping unilateral sanctions, keeping industrial and supply chains stable, and promoting post-conflict reconstruction.

Because the plan did not specify that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, the West accused China of an attempt to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty at the expense of Russia's.

Beijing has already dismissed these claims as false, with top diplomat Wang Yi saying China will continue to stand firmly on the side of dialogue and peace, and will not seek to fuel escalations nor remain a bystander.

"Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis," a statement reads, adding that China will play a "constructive role," without offering details.

On March 16, White House NSCSC John Kirby said that the US does not support an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine under a China-proposed peace strategy as it would constitute a violation of the UN charter by Russia. 

"While [a ceasefire] sounds perfectly reasonable, and it sounds like a good thing, a ceasefire right now would basically ratify Russia's conquest. It would, in effect, recognize Russia's gains and all of its attempts to conquer its neighbors' territory by force. So a ceasefire, right now, in our view, would constitute another continued violation of the UN charter by Russia," Kirby said during a press briefing.

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