2023-04-19 07:05:43
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Li Shangfu and Putin
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu visited Russia from April 16 to 19. This was Li Shangfu’s first foreign visit since he was appointed as Defense Minister.
Experts familiar with Sino-Russian relations believe that this visit shows that China and Russia attach great importance to the relationship between the two countries, and China hopes to help Russia not be completely defeated in the Ukraine war.
Regarding this foreign visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China and Russia have always adhered to the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of third parties, and developed a new type of major-country relationship featuring mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. He stressed that “on the Ukrainian issue, China has always been firmly committed to promoting peace and talks.”
Sino-Russian military cooperation
People’s Daily Online reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Li Shangfu in Moscow last Sunday. Putin said that Russia-China military cooperation occupies an important position in the relationship between the two countries. He hopes that the two militaries will strengthen cooperation in joint exercises, professional exchanges and other fields, and continuously deepen the strategic mutual trust between the two countries.
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When meeting with Li Shangfu, Putin said that Russia-China military cooperation occupies an important position in the relationship between the two countries.
Li Shangfu said that the two heads of state have set the direction for the development of China-Russia relations, the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era has been deepened, the mutual trust between China and Russia has been increasingly consolidated, and cooperation has yielded fruitful results.
Russian Satellite News Agency reported that when meeting with Li Shangfu, Putin said that Russia and China have been cooperating in the military sector, “cooperating in the field of military technology, and holding joint exercises in different theaters in the Far East, Europe, and land, sea and air.”
The report also said that the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that more than 20 Chinese military officers will start studying in advanced advanced training courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces in the fall.
On Tuesday (April 18), Li Shangfu met with Russian Defense Minister Shoigu. Li Shangfu said that the first foreign visit after the appointment was to Russia, and he wanted to show the world China’s firm will to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia.
He also said that China and Russia intend to deepen military-technical cooperation and take it to a “new level”.
Li Shangfu (right) and Russian Defense Minister Shoigu
Chen Cheng, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at Albany, believes that Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Russia not long ago and talked with Putin about the cooperation framework between the two countries in various aspects. As the new Minister of Defense, Li Shangfu’s first visit abroad is obviously to implement the cooperation in the field of national defense negotiated by the leaders of the two countries.
“This highlights the importance that China and Russia attach to each other’s relations. Under the trend of increasingly tense Sino-US relations, China and Russia, as the two major rivals targeted by the United States, naturally have many motives to strengthen the relationship between the two countries’ strategic partners. If it is tension, the interaction between China and Russia will become more frequent.” Chen Cheng told BBC Chinese.
Xia Ming, a professor of political science at the City University of New York, pointed out to BBC Chinese that if Russia is completely defeated in the Ukrainian War, and Western countries weaken Russia through the Ukrainian War, or even let Putin step down to trigger changes in Russia, the crisis facing Xi Jinping is far greater than that In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed.
He pointed out that China hopes to help Russia survive through practical military cooperation, so that Russia will not completely collapse throughout the war.
Xia Ming also said that Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been included in the sanctions list by the United States, and sending him to Russia also has political significance. Putin gave him a high-level reception, “Send important information to the United States. Becoming our special envoy, our cooperation is not only at the diplomatic level, but also at the military level.”
Since 2018, Li Shangfu has been sanctioned by the United States for purchasing fighter jets and equipment from Rosoboronexport, a major Russian arms exporter. Li Shangfu has served as China’s defense minister since March 2023.
Chinese parts
Last week, Archyde.com quoted a senior adviser in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying that more and more Chinese components were found in weapons used by the Russian army on the Ukrainian battlefield.
“The trend now is that fewer and fewer parts are being made in the West, and it’s not hard to guess which country is making more and more parts, of course China,” said consultant Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has repeatedly denied supplying Russia with military equipment. The war has triggered Western sanctions against Russia, including a ban on supplying it with military and dual-use technology, such as microchips that can be used in common appliances or weapons.
Intelligence gathered by Ukrainian experts from the battlefield and shared with Archyde.com said Chinese-made parts were found in the navigation system of the Orlan drone, which previously used a Swiss system.
Experts also reported finding Chinese components in the fire control systems of Russian tanks that had previously used French-made components.
Xia Ming believes that if the West increases sanctions against China because of China’s aid to Russia, it will have a great impact on China’s national economy.
“Currently, several Western countries are gradually tightening the screws on China’s sanctions, with no signs of relaxing, which has brought great pressure and bottlenecks to Chinese industry,” he said.
Xi Jinping meets Putin: How will the “Ukrainian crisis” affect the direction of “dear friends” relations?
Chen Cheng pointed out that there is currently no evidence that the Chinese government has directly provided Russia with military assistance, but the West generally believes that China has actually given Russia a lot of support both diplomatically and economically.
“As long as China continues to support Russia economically and diplomatically, Russia will be able to continue the war against Ukraine financially and militarily. However, this also means that Russia will have to pay attention to China’s position and China’s opinion on possible future solutions.”
She believes that if the West imposes sanctions on China, it will not change China’s position on Russia.
“It can be seen that the Chinese leaders do not believe that there will be a turnaround in Sino-US relations in the near future, so they have decided to strengthen military cooperation with Russia,” Chen Cheng said. There will be broader and deeper cooperation in tactics, technology and other aspects. This is undoubtedly a new challenge to the international order dominated by the United States.”
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