Putin, Chinese Defense Minister Praise Strong Bilateral Ties

"Putin held a working meeting with Li Shangfu, a member of China's State Council and defense minister," Peskov said.

During the meeting with Li, who is visiting Russia from Sunday to Tuesday, the Russian president stated that cooperation between the two sides is developing in all directions, including between the defense ministries.

Putin stressed that the Russian and Chinese defense ministries share information regularly.

"As for defense departments, we are working just as actively, regularly exchanging useful information, cooperating in the military-technical field, conducting joint exercises, moreover, at different theaters, including in the Far East region, in Europe, and at sea, and on the land and in the air," Putin said during the meeting, which was attended by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu too.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu attended the meeting too.

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The president expressed confidence that defense is yet another important area that strengthens the strategic nature of relations between the two countries.

"We are glad to see you. I know that you have a busy work schedule. I am sure that your visit will be held at the highest level. Welcome to Russia," the president told Defense Minister Li.

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He further mentioned the recent visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia, praising it as very productive.

"You arrived in Russia after a visit to our country by our great friend, my friend, the president of the People's Republic of China, Comrade Xi Jinping. I would like to emphasize once again that the visit was very productive," Putin told Li, asking the minister to convey his best wishes to Chairman Xi.

For his part, the Chinese defense minister told the Russian president that he had chosen Russia as the destination of his first foreign trip in order to show how significant the bilateral relations were.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu greet each other during a meeting in Moscow on April 16, 2023.

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Li then pointed out that the Sino-Russian cooperation contributes greatly to global security, as he emphasized that the relationship between the two nations is stronger than any alliances clinched during the Cold War.

"We have very strong relations. They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era, they are built on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation with a third party. They are very stable," the minister elaborated.

The Chinese minister added that the two sides would continue to work for the prosperity of the entire world.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder and work to improve the well-being of our peoples. Taking into account that the economic recovery is very slow... the world is very restless, peace, peaceful relations between countries are in great demand ... Cooperation (with Russia) is developing at all levels and we will continue such cooperation for the development and prosperity of the whole world," he said.

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The Chinese defense minister's visit comes less than a month after President Xi's trip to Russia, where he held an informal meeting with Putin. Aside from that, the two presidents held talks in a broad format with the participation of delegations. The two leaders signed a joint statement on a plan to develop key areas of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030.

Putin, Chinese Defense Minister Li Hail Strong Bilateral Ties Surpassing 'Cold War-Era Alliances'