As two of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as two major pillars of the United Nations-centered international system, both China and Russia consider it a shared responsibility to deepen their strategic coordination to prevent the law-based international order from being hijacked by the United States and its clique for their own narrow ends.

In doing so, the two countries have formed a model for the relationship between major countries that is characterized by mutual respect.

Shortly after the leaders of the two countries met during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last week, top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi co-chaired the 17th Round of the Strategic Security Consultation between China and Russia with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Monday.

The consultation has undoubtedly initiated the implementation of the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders on deepening the two countries' cooperation and the need for joint efforts to uphold fairness and justice in the international system.

Thus Yang and Patrushev exchanged views on better coordinating and targeting their actions to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and discussing the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine, among other issues.

Those who feel uneasy or even fearful at the normal collaboration between Beijing and Moscow should do some soul-searching on their own motives, rather than racking their brains to speculate on the two countries having ulterior motives.

The two countries' focus is on improving the common good of the two peoples and contributing to world peace and stability. Their relations have never been at the mercy of third parties. They have not changed and will not change their original vision or course due to drastic changes in the international landscape or under pressure from third parties.

Their adherence to the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and not targeting third parties while handling bilateral ties guarantee that Sino-Russian relations will withstand the tests of various kinds of challenges, and they will continue to work together to safeguard the security interests of the region as well as the common interests of developing countries and emerging market economies.

That is in stark contrast to the behavior of some Western countries that are intent on sowing seeds of discord around the world and provoking confrontation.

The times are changing and the historical forces driving the change call for political trust, openness and inclusiveness, not aspersion, confrontation and exclusion.