Foreign Minister Lavrov’s Message to the 11th International Conference: Russia–China Cooperation as the Foundation of a New Era

Kathmandu. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that relations between Russia and China do not impose restrictions on the sovereignty of either side, are not limited by ideology, and are not directed against any third country. He expressed this view in a message sent to the 11th International Conference on “Russia and China: Cooperation in a New Era,” organized by the Russian International Affairs Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Lavrov noted that 2026 is a special year for Russia–China relations. “Thirty years ago, our leaders, through a joint declaration for the first time, announced a fundamentally new framework of an equal and trust-based partnership strengthened by strategic interaction in the 21st century,” he said. He added that the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, signed on July 16, 2001, by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, opened a new chapter in the centuries-old history of bilateral relations.

Lavrov said that the direction of these relations depends on dialogue based on trust at the highest level, namely leader-to-leader diplomacy. He informed that during President Putin’s visit to China on May 19–20, 2026, the two leaders renewed the treaty for another five years. “The principles of the treaty have stood the test of time and remain relevant in current realities,” he said. “They include the protection of state unity and territorial integrity, respect for each other’s choice of political, economic, social and cultural development paths, non-interference in internal affairs, the absence of mutual territorial claims, and the commitment of Moscow and Beijing to transform their shared border into a zone of eternal peace and friendship.”

Emphasizing the international significance of the treaty, Lavrov said that the Russia–China foreign policy partnership is serving as a central stabilizing factor in international affairs. The two countries are cooperating effectively within the United Nations, the Security Council, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the G20 and ASEAN-centered platforms. He said that Russia and China, together with like-minded partners, are contributing to the construction of a more just multipolar world and are doing much to create a space of equal and indivisible security and cooperation across Eurasia.