TSAMTO, April 18. On April 18, negotiations between the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Sergei Shoigu, and the Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of China, Colonel-General Li Shangfu, took place in Moscow.
According to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, at the beginning of the meeting, the head of the Russian military department congratulated his Chinese counterpart on his appointment and wished him success in his responsible post in protecting the Motherland, strengthening its defense capability, and further modernization of the People's Liberation Army of China.
"I am convinced that your extensive experience of cooperation with the Russian Federation will contribute both to the development of the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China and to the expansion of military cooperation between our countries. I look forward to the closest and most fruitful cooperation with you in the spirit of unbreakable friendship between our countries, peoples, as well as the armed forces of Russia and China," said Army General Sergei Shoigu.
The Russian Defense Minister also stressed that the Russian side highly appreciates the fact that after being appointed to the post of Defense Minister, Colonel General Li Shangfu chose Russia as the first country for his foreign trip, as did KHP Chairman Xi Jinping.
"The Moscow Summit has become the main political event in Russian-Chinese relations this year. President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping confirmed that the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are at the highest level. They need to be developed by giving each other strong support, including on national security issues," the Russian Defense Minister said.
In response, Colonel-General Li Shangfu expressed his intention to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia.
"After my appointment as Defense Minister, my first foreign visit was to Russia to demonstrate to the outside world the high level of development of Sino-Russian relations and to demonstrate a firm determination to strengthen strategic cooperation between the armed forces of China and Russia," the head of the Chinese military department said.
During the meeting, Army General Sergei Shoigu noted that the interaction between Russia and China has a stabilizing effect on the situation in the world and helps to reduce tensions: "the coordination of our efforts in the international arena has a stabilizing effect on the situation in the world, helps to reduce the conflict potential. It is important that our countries equally assess the essence of the ongoing transformation of the global geopolitical landscape."
Army General Sergei Shoigu also stressed that Russia and China coordinate their actions in the preparation of joint sea and air patrols, military exercises both on a bilateral basis and in multilateral formats – within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and SMOA Plus.
"I am convinced that today's meeting will serve to further strengthen the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership in the defense sphere and will allow us to openly discuss topical issues of global and regional security," the Russian Defense Minister said.
Both sides expressed their mutual intention to deepen military-technical cooperation between the two countries. Thus, Colonel-General Li Shangfu stated that "The Armed Forces of Russia and China will definitely carefully implement the agreements reached by the heads of state and promote military and military-technical cooperation and military trade between Russia and China. We will definitely take them to a new level."
