China and Russia had reached a “high degree” of strategic consensus on issues related to Japan and jointly opposed the revival of “Japanese militarism”, a readout from Beijing said after Foreign Minister Wang Yi met chief Kremlin security aide Sergei Shoigu in Moscow.

Shoigu, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also told Wang that Russia could achieve its “strategic objectives” for the war in Ukraine, hours before Putin hosted White House negotiators on a revised peace plan. The Kremlin said later that the meeting ended without any compromise on a potential peace deal.

According to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang and Shoigu had “comprehensive and in-depth” exchanges on major issues concerning the strategic security interests of both countries and concluded their talks with mutual trust strengthened.

“The two sides conducted strategic alignment on issues related to Japan, reaching a high degree of consensus,” the statement said about the latest round of talks under a security consultation mechanism established two decades ago.

“They agreed to resolutely uphold the outcomes of World War II victory, firmly oppose any attempts to whitewash colonial aggression and resolutely counter any attempts to revive fascism or Japanese militarism.”