Dong Jun assured Russia of his country's support in the Ukraine war. China always claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but had openly sided with Russia at the beginning of the war.
Dong Jun succeeded Li Shangfu, who disappeared in the fall after only about six months in office and was later removed from office. In China, the defense minister functions primarily as a public representative of the military. The phone call with Shoigu was his first official contact with a foreign counterpart.