On September 11, 2020 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia in Moscow.

Wang Yi congratulated the Russian side on successfully hosting the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers and the China-Russia-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which have sent a clear signal to firmly stick to multilateralism, protect the authority of international law and safeguard the norms of international relations.

Wang Yi expressed, since the beginning of this year, under the strategic leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, bilateral relations have withstood the tests of the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing international situation. In both countries, economic and social activities are returning to normal and the governance capacity has grown to a new level. The two sides have firmly backed each other in the international arena, defended both countries' rightful interests, and effectively responded to the attacks and defamation from some extremist forces in the United States. As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the founding of the United Nations (UN), the two countries have jointly preserved the outcome of the victory of World War II, maintained the core position of the UN, upheld international fairness and justice, and served as a stabilizer in the volatile international situation.

Wang Yi said, the Chinese side is ready to work with the Russian side to make comprehensive preparations for future high-level interactions and make plans for further cooperation in various areas. Both sides should continue close coordination, better cooperate in epidemic prevention and control, explore new ways of cooperation amid the regular pandemic containment arrangements, and facilitate cross-border movement of people and freight.

Wang Yi stressed, cyber and information security is an important area of China-Russia and international cooperation. Currently, some countries are using their technological advantages to brazenly monitor other countries and steal their information. The Chinese side has recently proposed the "Global Initiative on Data Security" in response to the common concerns and major doubt about data security and with an aim to create international rules on digital security together with all parties.

Sergey Lavrov said, the fruitful meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers and the China-Russia-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting were held successfully yesterday, in which a series of mutually beneficial and win-win consensus have been reached. Although the epidemic is raging this year, Russia-China relations and cooperation in various fields have been steadily advancing. The personnel of the two countries have maintained comrade-like exchanges, and both countries have intensified strategic coordination on the international stage, firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, and firmly safeguarded multilateralism and maintain the core position of the UN. The Russian side is willing to closely interact with the Chinese side to push forward important events on bilateral and multilateral agendas, and deepen cooperation in various areas to inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations.

Sergey Lavrov noted, the US takes destructive steps currently, follows the "Indo-Pacific strategy" full of the Cold War mentality in Asia Pacific, and sows discord among countries in the region, which has caused rifts and even confrontations. The Russian side stands ready to strengthen strategic coordination with the Chinese side, attach importance to the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in regional cooperation, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.

Sergey Lavrov said, the Russian side holds positive opinions about the Chinese side-proposed "Global Initiative on Data Security". It is conducive to the creation of international rules on data security as well as further Russia-China cooperation in the area of international information security, against the backdrop that some countries are politicizing information technology and cyber security and containing other countries under the pretext of safeguarding its own national security.

The two sides also exchanged in-depth views over international and regional issues of common concern.

The two countries also published a joint statement issued by the two foreign ministers to present the two sides' common stands on various global challenges.

The two foreign ministers met the press together after the talks.