China is willing to work with Russia to take the global order “in a more just and reasonable direction,” Beijing’s top diplomat said, underscoring the depth of the two nations’ ties. Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, “the relationship between the two countries has always been on the right track, and both sides firmly support each other on issues relating to their core interests,” Yang Jiechi told Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov in a meeting in Beijing. “The Chinese side is willing to work with the Russian side to continuously implement high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries, safeguard common interests and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction,” Yang said, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-13/xi-putin-building-more-just-world-order-top-china-envoy-says#xj4y7vzkg) Xi plans to travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week for his first trip abroad since the start of the pandemic two years ago. Uzbekistan is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit Thursday and Friday.