Wang's remarks at a virtual conference of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) trilateral came amidst a violent clash between the militaries of India and China

BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Russia, India and China should correctly handle and properly deal with "sensitive issues" in bilateral ties to safeguard the overall interests of their relations.

Wang's remarks at a virtual conference of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) trilateral came amidst a violent clash between the militaries of India and China that led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley on June 15.

In his address to RIC Foreign Ministers, Wang said the three countries should "correctly handle and properly deal with sensitive factors in bilateral relations and safeguard the overall interests of mutual relation," without directly referring to the current round of India-China military tensions along the Line of Actual Control, (LAC).

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were also present in the meeting.

He backed Russia's proposal to hold the first RIC defence ministers meeting to enhance the level of defence and security cooperation. Wang emphasised that China, Russia, and India are big countries that insist on strategic autonomy, a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

He said the three nations should grasp the opportunity to enhance overall cooperation.

"Starting from the common interests of promoting the development of the three countries and safeguarding the world's peaceful development, we should correctly treat and properly handle the sensitive factors in bilateral relations and maintain the overall situation of mutual relations," he said.

"We should make good use of the overall momentum of cooperation in which the three countries are partners and opportunities for each other proceed from the common interests of promoting the development and revitalisation of the three countries and safeguarding the world peace and development," he said.

He said the three counties should adhere to multilateralism and improve global governance, resolutely defend the victory of the Second World War and promote the democratisation and the rule of law in international relations.

They should maintain the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, ensure the authority and effectiveness of the UN, and strengthen communication and coordination within the UN framework.

They should build an open world economy, maintain the multilateral trading system based on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and ensure the safe and smooth operation of the global industrial supply chain.

The three nations should improve the cooperation level of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in various fields and maintain unity and cooperation of the BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries.

he three countries should strengthen the cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic and work together to overcome it by carrying out mutual exchanges and lessons learned from their experiences to carry out epidemic information sharing, drug and vaccine R&D (Research and Development) cooperation.

The three nations should explore the establishment of a joint defence and joint control mechanism and establish a "fast channel" for the exchange of personnel and a "green channel" for logistics, he said.

The three countries should jointly promote international anti-epidemic cooperation, resolutely resist stigmatising the epidemic situation, and resolutely oppose making political essays in the name of anti-epidemic. They should support the World Health Organisation (WHO), promote the improvement of global public health governance and build a community of human health, he said.

China has come under increasing global pressure over lack of transparency in its handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, which originated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Wang suggested a tripartite joint force to perfect the cooperation mechanism.

"It is recommended to establish a tripartite ministerial dialogue mechanism in the professional fields of economy, trade, energy, transportation, education, culture, and health; establish a panel of experts and celebrities to provide suggestions for deepening the tripartite cooperation," the press release said.