On October 15, the Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is visiting China. In the meeting, Zhang highlighted that the relationship between China and Russia has reached historical heights in recent years and continues to develop in a stable and healthy manner. He attributed this progress largely to the strategic guidance and personal promotion by Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.
Zhang expressed China’s willingness to collaborate with Russia to commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations as a new starting point for strengthening their long-standing friendship, mutual strategic trust, and cooperative benefits. He emphasized the importance of implementing the key understandings reached by the two leaders, maintaining close high-level interactions, and deepening military cooperation to protect each nation’s sovereignty, security, and development interests while jointly safeguarding international and regional peace and stability.
Shoigu responded by noting the deep-rooted friendship between Russia and China. He expressed Russia’s eagerness to work alongside China to use the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and the Chinese people’s victory in the War of Resistance against Japan in 2025 as an opportunity to enhance practical cooperation across various fields, broaden the scope of collaboration, and deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations in the new era.
