China and Belarus agreed on Monday to deepen and expand cooperation in various fields, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing with his counterpart from Belarus, Maksim Ryzhenkov, who is on an official visit to China.

Belarus was formally accepted as the 10th member state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, on Thursday, with China having assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-25 after the summit in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, last week.

China stands ready to work with all parties to carry forward the philosophy known as the Shanghai Spirit, and to strengthen coordination and cooperation to play a more important role in promoting peace, stability, and development, Wang said.

Noting that China was the first country he had visited since taking up his post, Ryzhenko said Belarus highly valued its relations with China.

While expressing thanks for China supporting the country's accession to the SCO, he said Belarus would fully support China in fulfilling its duties in the rotating presidency of the SCO.

Belarus highly appreciated and would continue to deeply engage in a series of China-proposed global initiatives, he said, adding that Minsk would uphold multilateralism and work along with Beijing to jointly address global challenges.

The two sides also exchanged in-depth views on bilateral and multilateral issues, agreeing to firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns, and to reject unilateral hegemony.

Both sides vowed to boost unity and cooperation of countries of the Global South so as to safeguard legitimate interests of developing countries.

On the Ukraine issue, Ryzhenkov spoke highly of the six-point consensus jointly issued by China and Brazil for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, saying it carried great significance for promoting a ceasefire and realizing peace.

The pressing need for all parties concerned was to de-escalate the crisis and create conditions for resuming dialogues, Wang said, adding that China would continue to play a constructive role.