MOSCOW: Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday in Moscow, hailing their countries’ close military ties.
The meeting began Li’s four-day trip to Russia, which will be his first international tour since taking up the position last month.
Western nations have increased their pressure on Beijing to persuade Putin to halt his conflict with Ukraine.
Li was the head of the Chinese military’s Equipment Development Department when he was sanctioned by the US in 2018 for dealings with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter.
According to the US State Department, these deals included Russia giving China S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018 and Su-35 combat aircraft in 2017.
Li is travelling following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia last month. Xi and Putin reaffirmed their commitment to “deepen military mutual trust” and promote military cooperation and exchanges as they further solidified their nations’ relations.
According to a Kremlin statement, Putin told Li at their discussion on Sunday that Xi’s recent Russian visit was “very productive” and that ties between the two countries were improving in all sectors, including the military. According to Putin, military cooperation between the two nations is “one of the most significant areas that strengthen the remarkably trustworthy, strategic nature of relations.”
According to a readout from Chinese official media, Li informed Putin that collaboration has produced “fruitful results” and that confidence between the forces of the two nations has “increasingly consolidated.”
According to Li, Xi and Putin had agreed that China was prepared to cooperate with Russia to “strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation, make new contributions to safeguarding global and regional security and stability, and strengthen strategic communication between the two militaries.” Neither side’s official report of the meeting made any mention of Ukraine.
Push for peace
China has proclaimed its neutrality in the Ukraine conflict and urged for an end to hostilities. But it has also refrained from denouncing Russia’s incursion or demanding that Russia withdraw its troops in public. Instead, it has consistently asserted that all nations’ “legitimate” security interests must be taken into consideration and accused NATO and the US of escalating the conflict.
Nevertheless, European leaders have voiced confidence that Xi might promote peace by leveraging his friendship with Putin. Recently, several leaders visited the Chinese capital to further these goals. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock claimed that Xi’s recent trip to Moscow shows that no nation has more influence over Russia than China during a joint press conference with her Chinese counterpart on Friday in Beijing.
“In the same way that China mediated between Saudi Arabia and Iran, we want China to use that influence to push Russia to end its war in Ukraine,” Baerbock added, alluding to a recent agreement negotiated by Beijing under which the two long-standing Middle Eastern enemies were able to reestablish diplomatic ties. After the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, travelled together, Ukraine was a major topic of discussion. However, the Chinese president did not budge from Beijing’s previously stated positions on the war in a joint statement from Macron and Xi that Elysee released.
The United States and its allies have continuously raised concerns that China was considering sending lethal aid to the Kremlin’s war effort; however, Beijing has denied this claim.
Since the Russian invasion, the two nations have continued to run joint military exercises worldwide.
Li will likely stay in Moscow till Wednesday. According to a ministry spokesperson last week, he would meet with Russian military authorities and tour Russian military academies while in the country. During the annual assembly of China’s rubber-stamp legislature last month, Li assumed the ceremonial position of defence minister. He also sits on the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, which governs the armed forces.
