China “highly appreciates” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s critical remarks about US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “provocative” visit to Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.
Wang noted that Putin’s position reflected the high-level strategic cooperation between China and Russia and was a manifestation of the “consistent and firm mutual support” of the two countries on issues relating to each other’s key national interests.
The spokesman also pointed out that, after Pelosi’s trip to Taipei, over 170 countries have reiterated their commitment to the “One China” principle and have supported Beijing in its attempts to defend China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement comes after Putin criticized Pelosi’s Taiwan visit as being a “carefully planned provocation” during the 10th Moscow International Security Conference on Tuesday.
The Russian president suggested that the speaker’s trip was part of Washington’s deliberate strategy to destabilize the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and it was “not just a trip of an individual irresponsible politician, but a brazen demonstration of disrespect towards another country’s sovereignty.”