Senior military official: China values military cooperation with Russia

China is willing to work with Russia to further deepen concrete military cooperation and uphold global and regional prosperity and stability, Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Zhang Youxia told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.

Zhang said the friendship between China and Russia is continuing to develop and grow stronger, noting that the leaders of the two countries had met twice this year and reached a series of important consensuses, charting a new blueprint for China-Russia relations, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The military relationship between the two countries was an important symbol of the high-level and special nature of their overall relationship, Zhang said, adding that in recent years, the development of China-Russia military ties had maintained strong momentum, with many highlights in various areas of cooperation.

Zhang, the Chinese military's second-highest ranking leader, said China was willing to work with Russia to implement the important consensuses reached by the two leaders, further deepen pragmatic military cooperation, and jointly safeguard the interests of both countries as well as global and regional prosperity and stability.

Putin said the friendly relations between Russia and China were beneficial for maintaining global and regional peace and stability, which is completely different from the kind of alliance during the Cold War.

He said the economic and trade relationship between the two countries had developed rapidly in recent years, and close cooperation had been maintained in international multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.

Bilateral military cooperation in various fields had developed well and achieved fruitful results, he said, adding that it played an important role in maintaining the strategic security of both countries.

Putin said Russia was willing to strengthen strategic communication with China, enhance practical cooperation, and continuously deepen the relationship between the two countries and two militaries.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held formal talks with Zhang on Wednesday morning.