Russia’s strategic partnership with China has reached an “unprecedented level,” Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said during a working visit to the country, according to Moscow on Tuesday. He made the remarks at a meeting with Zhang Shengmin, vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission.
Russia’s Defense Ministry shared a video of the meeting on Telegram. Belousov said the partnership was built on personal contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also congratulated Zhang on his election to the Politburo of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee.
Zhang said Putin and Xi had set new strategic directions for relations between the two countries. He described the meeting as a concrete step toward implementing agreements reached by the leaders and expressed confidence that friendship and cooperation between the Chinese and Russian armed forces would continue to strengthen.
Beijing and Moscow have expanded political, commercial and military cooperation since Xi and Putin declared a “limitless friendship” shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Energy is another area of closer ties, with Russia seeking to consolidate its position as a supplier to China amid Western sanctions and disruptions to international supply linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
Sources: Observador.