Putin meets Chinese defense minister, hails Moscow-Beijing military cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu in the Kremlin on Sunday, with both hailing the "strategic" nature of ties between the two countries and their growing military cooperation.

The meeting, which came less than a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Moscow, kicked off the newly-appointed Chinese Defense Minister's four-day visit to Russia – his first foreign trip since assuming the role last month.

“We are working actively through our military departments, regularly exchange useful information, work together in the field of military-technical cooperation, and hold joint exercises,” Putin was quoted by Russian media telling Li. 

"This is, undoubtedly, another important area that strengthens the exclusively trusting, strategic nature of our relations."

The Chinese minister, for his part, welcomed robust relations with Moscow, adding that trust between the militaries of the two countries has been “increasingly consolidated” and cooperation has yielded “fruitful results,” according to a readout from Chinese state media.

"We have very strong ties. They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era... They are very stable," Li, a general and veteran of China’s military modernization drive who has been sanctioned by the US, was quoted as saying. 

"This is my first overseas visit since taking over as China's defense minister...I specifically chose Russia for this in order to emphasize the special nature and strategic importance of our bilateral ties."

Putin and Xi in their historic meeting last month welcomed a "new era" in the Moscow-Beijing relationship and discussed Beijing's ideas for ending the year-year deadly war in Ukraine. 

China also declared its readiness late last month to boost cooperation with the Russian military to jointly uphold international justice, peace and security.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said during a press briefing on April 30 that Beijing is “willing to work together with the Russian military to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state.”

The spokesman added the two nations plan to regularly organize joint maritime and air patrols in efforts to “deepen military mutual trust” with Russia to help ensure international justice and make new contributions to international and regional security.

Beijing had announced Li’s visit to Moscow last week, saying he would meet Russian defense officials, without making any mention of a meeting with Putin.

SS