CHINESE State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and the two sides reached strategic consensus.

The talks, held in the city of Guilin, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, were the 51st meeting between Wang and Lavrov. “This shows the high level of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination,” Wang said.

No matter how the international situation changes, the comprehensive strategic coordination between the two countries will only strengthen and expand, rather than weaken or shrink, the Chinese foreign minister said.

The two sides agreed that strategic guidance by the two heads of state constitutes the political strength of bilateral ties, and jointly fighting the pandemic has further deepened the traditional friendship between the people of both countries.

They also agreed that pragmatic cooperation has strongly boosted the two countries’ economic and social development, and their international coordination has contributed stability and positive energy to the world.

The two sides briefed each other on the latest developments of their respective relations with the United States, according to a press release issued after the meeting.

During the two ministers’ meeting Monday, they said the international community believes that the United States should reflect on the damage it has done to global peace and development in recent years, halt unilateral bullying, stop meddling in other countries’ domestic affairs, and stop forming small circles to seek bloc confrontation, said the press release.

On the Iranian nuclear issue, the two sides believed that the United States should unconditionally return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as soon as possible and revoke the unilateral sanctions against Iran, it said.

(Xinhua)