Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a meeting at the Group of 20 (G20) summit that Moscow's position that a nuclear war ought not be fought showed a "rational" and "responsible" attitude.
The remarks from Wang come at a time when Beijing is under pressure from the United States and its allies in Europe to use its "no-limits partnership" with Moscow to push for an end to the war in Ukraine.
China has refused to call the war an invasion and President Xi Jinping called on the United States, military alliance NATO, and the European Union to conduct "comprehensive dialogues" with Russia on Ukraine during his three-hour long meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday.
"China noticed that Russia has recently reaffirmed the established position that 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,' which shows Russia's rational and responsible attitude," Wang was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua.
Wang also said during the meeting with Lavrov that China was pleased to see Russia signal its willingness to engage in dialogue over Ukraine and agree to resume the Black Sea grain export deal, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
"China is willing to work with Russia to push forward their high-level exchanges and communication in various fields, deepen bilateral practical cooperation and facilitate personnel exchanges," Wang said, according to Xinhua.
(Reporting by Eduardo BaptistaEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Andrew Cawthorne)
