MOSCOW: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sported some potentially undiplomatic facewear during a visit to China on Monday -- a black mask with the inscription "FCKNG QRNTN".

Lavrov wore the mask on the sidelines of a visit to the southern Chinese city of Guilin, according to images posted by his ministry on its social media accounts.

State news agency RIA Novosti said that journalists travelling with Lavrov had given him the mask to mark his 71st birthday on Sunday, saying it "jokingly describes" attitudes towards quarantine measures imposed around the world.

Lavrov wore a plain surgical mask when he met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to other images released by Moscow.

The coronavirus emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, before spreading around the world and killing at least 2.7 million people.

Unlike many countries, Russia has refused to impose a second coronavirus lockdown and President Vladimir Putin has made much of the fact that life in Moscow -- where many refuse to wear masks -- goes on virtually uninterrupted.

Russian state TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov hailed Lavrov for wearing the mask.

"The minister of a country which is controlling Covid better than the West is saluting everyone who lectured Russia," he said on messaging app Telegram.