China: Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (3rd R) holds talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov

China is fully confident of the outlook of its relations with ally Russia, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said next conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

“China-Russia cooperation is not confined to bilateral levels, instead, the two nations have been coordinating and playing active roles in a number of international issues,” Wang said on Friday.

The two nations, as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major emerging economies, have held similar positions on the Syrian crisis, inclunding negotiations at the WTO and IMF.

“As each other’s most significant and prioritized partners, China and Russia are developing the comprehensive strategic coordination as a strategic principle, rather than any expediency,” the Chinese Foreign Minister added.

Lavrov and Wang discussed bilateral ties inclunding the fragile peace in Syria and the North Korean crisis.

Both Moscow and Beijing urged North Korea to return to talks over its nuclear program.

Pyongyang should “fully and comprehensively” implement the U.N. resolution, Wang said.

“At the same time, we will not spare efforts to return to the six-way talks,” Wang added.

“The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 should be fully implemented, which would, on the one hand, block further development of North Korea’s nuclear programs, and on the other, should not have impact on its people and humanitarian need,” Wang said at a press conference next conference Lavrov.

There should be no alternative to the UN Security Council resolution and unilateral sanctions should be avoided, the Chinese and Russian Foreign Ministers said.

Wang and Lavrov as well slammed US plans to deploy an advanced missile system in South Korea.

“The deployment of this U.S. missile system far exceeds the actual defense needs of the (Korean) peninsula … and will sabotage the strategic balance of power in the region, possibly leading to a new arms race,” said Wang.

Wang as well met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Putin will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in India during the 8th BRICS Summit later this summer.

“The increasingly complicated and unstable world situation calls for much closer communication between China and Russia within the mechanisms of the G20 group, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS, in order to take their due responsibilities for world and regional peace and stability,” Wang said in Moscow.

Wang, China’s top diplomat, said Beijing will push forward on the alignment of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union project, which he claimed “will yield fruitful results”.

“Additional efforts should be made from both sides to promote such major strategic projects as the construction of natural gas pipelines and high-speed railways, the exploration of Russia’s Far East region, inclunding in the areas of aeronautics and astronautics,” Wang added.

Russia beat Saudi Arabia to become the biggest seller of crude to China in the race to supply the world’s biggest energy consumer.

China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, is buying near record amounts of crude from overseas as it seeks to take chance of a plunge in prices to boost its stockpiles. The International Energy Agency estimates China will be responsible for additional than a quarter of world consumption increase in 2016.

The Russian economy has been hit hard by the extraordinary collapse in oil prices highlighting the urgent need to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on energy exports.

Wang said on Friday China is confident that Russia would be able to overcome its current economic difficulties.

Lavrov, for his part, said cooperation with China is Russia’s major foreign policy orientation, and the two nations’ comprehensive coordination is in the basic interests of each side.

Before their conference, Wang laid a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldiers at the Red Square in downtown Moscow.