Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on 13 July, days before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers convenes in Tianjin. Lavrov is in China after a three-day visit to North Korea and will join representatives from nine SCO member states at the 15 July session. In separate readouts, the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries said the two diplomats reviewed their countries’ relations with the United States and “prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis in accordance with the UN Charter.” They also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula and the Iranian nuclear issue. Wang Yi described bilateral ties as “the most stable, mature and strategically valuable” among major powers. Both ministers pledged to deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation and to strengthen coordination across multilateral forums, including the UN Security Council, SCO, BRICS, the G20 and APEC. The meeting underscores Beijing and Moscow’s effort to present a united front amid heightened tensions with Washington and continuing conflict in Ukraine. Outcomes from the upcoming Tianjin gathering are expected to frame the agenda for an SCO leaders’ summit later in the year.