BEIJING, November 19 (Sputnik) – Military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and China are becoming increasingly important as the international situation is becoming more complex, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, the situation in this [Asia-Pacific] region, in North Africa and elsewhere in the world generally becomes more and more difficult each year. In this context, the military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and China gains special nature and significance," Shoigu said during the meeting with Xu Qiliang, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Shoigu praised the current level and prospects of military-technical cooperation between the two countries.
"We will have an opportunity to discuss the military-technical cooperation in details later today. Much of what we discussed during [Xu's] visit to Moscow last year is already underway," Russian Defense Minister added.
"The level of our partnership indicates that there are no problems that we cannot fix. Our work will be aimed at implementing joint military-technical projects," Shoigu noted.
He thanked Xu for the warm welcome and the excellent preparation of the upcoming 19th meeting of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation, due to be held in Beijing later in the day.
Xu Qiliang in turn said that "strategic partnership between China and Russia has entered a new stage of development" and "plays a significant role in maintaining regional and international stability."
Russian Defense Minister is on a working visit in China on November 17-19.
In recent years, Russia and China have enjoyed close military cooperation. Russia has supplied China with weapons and hardware, including jets and air defense systems, while the two countries' armies have taken part in a number of joint exercises.
