China sends top envoy to Russia for security talks

China's top diplomat on Monday began several days of security consultations with Russian officials following his weekend talks with US President Joe Biden's national security adviser in Malta.

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Foreign minister Wang Yi, who simultaneously holds the ruling Communist Party's top foreign policy post, will be in Russia through Thursday for strategic security consultations, the foreign ministry said in a brief statement.

Wang opened his talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov by hailing "strategic cooperation between the two countries and their shared commitment to a "multipolar world" and a "more just world order", terms Moscow and Beijing use to describe their efforts to counterbalance the perceived US domination of global affairs.

Wang is expected to lay the groundwork for Putin's visit to the Chinese capital for the third Belt and Road Forum after an invitation by President Xi Jinping during a high-profile visit to Moscow in March.