BEIJING: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised efforts he said were aimed at “containing” Russia and China during a visit to Beijing on Tuesday.

He also discussed with his Chinese counterpart plans for a meeting “within the year” between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Lavrov was given a red-carpet welcome after he arrived in the Chinese capital, photographs released by the Russian foreign ministry showed.

He later met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who he was seen shaking hands with in a picture posted on social media by Russia’s foreign ministry.

Lavrov warned of “some very, very dangerous games going on” in East Asian geopolitical hotspots that included Taiwan, the disputed South China Sea and the nuclear-armed Korean peninsula, according to quotes from the meeting with Wang published by state-run RIA Novosti.

In comments apparently referring to the United States and its allies, Lavrov said “they are trying to dismantle (regional cooperation) by creating small-format, bloc-based structures aimed at containing both the Peoples Republic of China and the Russian Federation”.

“Our vast continent as a whole demands constant attention,” he said.

Wang and Lavrov “conducted in-depth exchan­ges on the US-Iran conflict, the Asia-Pacific situation and the Ukraine crisis”, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

“The two sides coordinate and support one another on the international stage, demonstrating to the whole world that amid adversity, a righteous path remains, and that under changes, there lies greater responsibility,” Wang said.

Lavrov and Wang also “communicated and synced up preparations for a meeting between the two heads of state within the year”, according to the Chinese readout.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2026