China admires Russia’s resilience, top PLA general tells Vladimir Putin

“Under your leadership, the Russian Federation is responding robustly to various risks and challenges in the face of international turbulence,” Zhang said in footage aired on Russian state television.

“It has been proven by fact that you and Russia won’t be bent by any difficulties. We Chinese express our admiration for this.”

Putin told Zhang, the number two in China’s defence policymaking, that the two countries should expand cooperation especially in hi-tech areas such as “space, including high-orbit assets, and new prospective types of weapons that will ensure strategic security of both Russia and the People’s Republic of China”.

Although Putin stressed the importance of enhancing military ties he said the two countries are not building a “military alliance”, a statement from the Chinese defence ministry said.

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“Friendly relations between Russia and China are conducive to peace and stability in the world and in the region. It is completely different from the kind of alliance relationship based on Cold War patterns,” Putin added.

Zhang praised the “strong momentum that has been maintained” in the development of China-Russia military relations in recent years, which was highlighted by fruitful cooperation in various fields.

“The relationship between our two militaries is an important sign of how high-level and special our bilateral relationship has become,” Zhang said.

“The China-Russia friendship is ever growing and has become more solid with the passage of time.”

China has strengthened economic ties with Russia in recent years, and two-way trade is expected to exceed US$200 billion this year, about 40 per cent up on the 2021 figure.

Zhang also met Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday to discuss “further deepening the pragmatic cooperative relationship between the two militaries”.

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Shoigu said that relations between Moscow and Beijing are a model of strategic interaction based on trust and respect but also stressed that “the two countries are not forming a military bloc”.

The pair last met at the Xiangshan Security Forum in Beijing on September 30. At that time Zhang said China was ready to respond to various security threats and challenges together with Russia, and jointly maintain global strategic balance and stability.