Three nations to expand collaboration

At the latest trilateral foreign ministers' consultations among China, Russia and Mongolia, Beijing expressed its willingness to work with Moscow and Ulaanbaatar to stick to the original aspiration of their cooperation, pivot in the right direction, strengthen unity and collaboration, and block interference from outside.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi presided over the consultations held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.

He discussed trilateral cooperation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg.

China is willing to work with the two countries to "explore the effective path of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, build a prosperous and stable landscape in the region, and share the benefits of the region's development", he said.

The first meeting of the heads of state of China, Russia and Mongolia was convened in 2014.

During Wednesday's talks, Wang defined the three countries as "permanent neighbors sharing weal and woe and partners having a shared future".

Observers said the steady cooperation among the three countries has released positive signals on supporting multilateralism and building an open world economy.

President Xi Jinping attended the sixth meeting of the three countries' heads of state in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022.

As part of the evolving trilateral collaboration, China, Russia and Mongolia held their first trilateral meeting of high representatives for security issues in Moscow last year.

Wang said in the meeting on Wednesday that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the three heads of state, the three countries have seen progress in their practical cooperation, exchanges and dialogue in various fields as well as the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.

Mutually beneficial cooperation among the three sides enjoys inherent geographical advantages and deep traditions, and is "in the fundamental interests of the people of the three countries", Wang said.

Lavrov and Battsetseg spoke highly of the trilateral foreign ministers' consultation mechanism.

They said the mutually beneficial trilateral cooperation offers broad prospects and huge potential, and they are ready to work with China to implement the important consensus of the three heads of state.

Russia and Mongolia are willing to strengthen the synergy of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Steppe Road program with the Belt and Road Initiative, and accelerate connectivity buildup and construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, they said.

During the consultations, the neighboring countries expressed their willingness to build more landmark priority projects and take trilateral cooperation to a new height.

The three foreign ministers also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

They said the three nations "will strengthen coordination in the multilateral context, oppose unilateral moves, safeguard the region's peace and stability, and facilitate the region's integration and development", the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In another development, Wang met on Thursday with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Astana. He said the two countries should "look at bilateral relations from a strategic perspective", strengthen communication and properly handle differences.

Beijing and New Delhi should "stick to positive thinking", properly handle and control the situation in the border areas while actively resuming regular exchanges, and facilitate each other's development, he said.

Jaishankar said that India looks to work with China to carry out the ambitious vision agreed by the leaders of both sides, constructively resolve specific differences and turn a new page in India-China relations as soon as possible.