WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (TASS) - Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns believes that the Chinese government remains committed to its partnership with Russia, CBS journalist Olivia Gazis said on Twitter.

The journalist quoted Burns as saying while addressing an event at the Georgetown University that Beijing remains "committed" to the partnership with Rusia, albeit "very reluctant" to provide lethal arms, for example.

At the same time, Reuters wrote with reference to Burns that it would be a mistake to underestimate the commitment of Moscow and Beijing to bilateral cooperation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China on February 4, 2022. His talks with China’s leader Xi Jinping focused on further developing and bolstering bilateral ties, coordinating actions on the international scene and elaborating joint approaches to pressing issues and global security challenges.

Following the results of the talks that lasted more than two and a half hours, the leaders of both countries adopted a joint statement, which emphasized that friendship between Russia and China "has no limits" and "there are no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation." The document also said that Moscow and Beijing stood against NATO’s further expansion and called on the North Atlantic alliance to give up the Cold War approach.