China declared ties with Russia to be “rock solid” despite President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, while repeating earlier an accusation that the United States is trying to build a Pacific version of Nato.

“No matter how precarious and challenging the international situation may be, China and Russia will maintain a strategic focus and steadily advance our comprehensive strategic partnership and coordination,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday (March 7) at his annual news briefing on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.