MOSCOW — A top Russian security official declared Monday on a visit to China that the Kremlin considers beefing up ties with Beijing as a top policy goal.
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the national Security Council chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, described the “strengthening of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation with Beijing as an unconditional priority of Russia's foreign policy.”
Patrushev is one of Putin's closest associates. Speaking during a meeting with Guo Shengkun, a top official of China's Communist Party, he said “in the current conditions, our countries must show even greater readiness for mutual support and development of cooperation.”
Patrushev's office said in a terse statement after the talks in the Chinese city of Nanping that the parties agreed to “expand information exchanges on countering extremism and foreign attempts to undermine the constitutional order of both countries in order to derail independent policies of Russia and China serving their national interests.”
The Chinese and Russian officials also emphasized a need to expand cooperation on cybersecurity and strengthen contacts between their law enforcement agencies on fighting terrorism.
The statement didn't offer any further details of prospective cooperation.
Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week in Uzbekistan, their first encounter since the Russian leader sent troops…
