On October 16, 2023, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Wang Yi said that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by President Xi Jinping, and is of great significance of building on past achievements and working for fresh progress. China will take the upcoming third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation as an opportunity to forge broader international consensus, and boost the building of the BRI to a new stage of high-quality development. China appreciates that President Vladimir Putin highly rates and supports Belt and Road cooperation, and welcomes Russia's continued active engagement to contribute to common development and prosperity. Next year will be the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia diplomatic relations. Both sides should well plan commemorative activities to deepen strategic mutual trust, consolidate traditional friendship and promote everlasting friendship.

Sergei Lavrov congratulated Chinese friends on the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China again. He said that bilateral relations have maintained a positive momentum for development, and Russia looks forward to close strategic communication with China to deepen practical cooperation in all respects. The BRI has become an important platform for boosting international cooperation. All parties have actively participated in the BRI. The building of BRI has also boosted mutually beneficial cooperation in Eurasia. President Vladimir Putin highly anticipates the meeting with President Xi Jinping and attending of the event in China. He believes the Forum will be a big success.

The two sides carried out strategic coordination on cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations (UN), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS. Wang Yi noted that China is willing to work with Russia to safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and uphold international fairness and justice; to strengthen the solidarity and collaboration of the SCO to actively make the SCO's voice heard. China supports Russia's rotating presidency of BRICS next year to turn the BRICS mechanism into a major platform for South-South cooperation, forge the most extensive international consensus, and jointly protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and emerging economies.

The two sides also had an exchange of views on the Palestine-Israel conflict. Wang Yi said that China condemns all acts that harm civilians and opposes any violation of international law. It is necessary for the UN Security Council to take action and for big countries to play an active part. The pressing task is to cease fire and end the war, bring the two sides back to negotiation, and establish corridors for emergency humanitarian assistance to prevent more serious humanitarian disasters. The fundamental resolution is to activate the two-state solution as soon as possible so as to reach broader consensus and develop the timetable and roadmap for restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation.