Russian warships kick off 7-day visit in Shanghai, to conduct military exercises with PLA

Two Russian warships, Russian Navy corvettes RFS Sovershennyy (333) and RFS Gromkiy (335), arrived at the Shanghai port on Wednesday for their first friendly visit, the seventh by Russia's naval ships to Shanghai. The warships will conduct a series of drills with their Chinese counterparts, the flagship news paper of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) reported on Thursday.

The Russian naval ships will stay in Shanghai until July 11. During the seven-day stay, Chinese and Russian naval officers and soldiers will pay visits to the warships of the two navies to conduct exchanges on professional technologies, and will also hold activities such as friendly basketball games, said the PLA Daily's report. After the visit, the two Russian warships will conduct a series of exercises with Chinese vessels, including formation movement, communication and maritime search and rescue, according to the PLA Daily.

Chinese analysts said on Thursday that the cooperation and exchanges between the Chinese and Russian militaries will be normalized amid growing US strategic pressure in both Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, stressing that the military cooperation with Russia is based on the shared responsibility to safeguard regional peace and stability, and has nothing to do with any ongoing geopolitical crisis, and China's neutral stance and mediation efforts on the Ukraine crisis remain unchanged.

TASS reported on Wednesday that this is the first visit by Russian naval vessels after the lifting of anti-coronavirus restrictions. The corvettes Gromkiy and Sovershennyy moored at the wharf of the Chinese naval base located at the confluence of the Huangpu and Yangtze Rivers. The Russian Pacific Fleet's warships were welcomed in a solemn ceremony to the accompaniment of the military band by the naval base chief, a representative of the Shanghai Committee for Foreign Affairs, and Russia's Consul General in Shanghai Dmitry Lukyantsev.

Chinese naval sailors dressed in white parade uniforms and holding placards with welcome greetings in Russian and Chinese, lined up at the wharf to welcome their Russian counterparts.