China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday that Beijing would “strengthen strategic cooperation” with Moscow during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

In comments reported by the RIA Novosti news agency, Wang said Beijing and Moscow would “provide each other with strong support.”

The meeting took place during a two-day visit by Lavrov to China. The two powers have improved their diplomatic ties since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, declaring a “no limits” partnership.

The West is “implementing unlawful sanctions toward a number of states, Russia is among them of course. This policy is starting to be actively applied toward [China] as well,” Lavrov said, referencing efforts by the US to restrict China’s access to key US-made technologies.