During a videoconference meeting on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted to strengthen military cooperation with China with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“In the context of unprecedented pressures and provocations from the West, we defend our positions of principle”, welcomed the master of the Kremlin.
According to him, “the coordination between Moscow and Beijing on the international scene (…) serves the creation of a just world order based on international law”.
"Military and technical cooperation that contributes to the security of our countries and the maintenance of stability in key regions have a special place" in Russian-Chinese cooperation, he stressed.
Faced with heavy Western sanctions because of its offensive against Ukraine, Russia has been seeking in recent months to strengthen its ties with Asia, in particular with China, which has nevertheless refrained from supporting the Russian attack against his neighbour.
Chinese President in Moscow in Spring
The Chinese president said that "in the face of a difficult and far from simple international situation", Beijing is ready "to increase strategic cooperation with Russia, to provide each other with development opportunities, to be global partners in benefit of the peoples of our countries and in the interest of stability in the world" but he did not mention military cooperation explicitly.
So far, Beijing has not delivered any weapons to Russia, although several joint military exercises have taken place in recent months, including naval maneuvers this week in the East China Sea.
Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that his counterpart would come to Russia "in the spring" of 2023 for "a state visit", which will be a first since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Putin wants stronger military cooperation with China
Russia is also trying to increase its gas deliveries to the Chinese economy, a major consumer of hydrocarbons, especially as the Europeans are determined to get rid of their Russian energy dependence.