24 Apr 2018 18:35

Russian-Chinese military-technical cooperation has never been better - Chinese Central Military Commission vice chairman

BEIJING. April 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Military-technical cooperation between Russia and China is currently at its highest level ever, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, Lieut. General Xu Qiliang, said.

"I believe inter-army relations between China and Russia are going through the best period in their entire history, especially with regard to military-technical cooperation relations," Xu said during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Beijing on Tuesday.

Xu said he no longer serves as the Chinese co-chair of the Russian-Chinese joint intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation.

"This work has been transferred to Vice Chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia. I know he is also a good friend of yours, and I believe your combined efforts will certainly produce even better results in our military-technical cooperation," Xu told Shoigu.

Xu said he had been informed about the meeting between the heads of the military delegations from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.

"I've already been told that you expressed your opinion perfectly on behalf of all the SCO defense ministers during the meeting with President Xi Jinping yesterday. I wish you great success in holding the SCO Council of Defense Ministers meeting. We want you to play an even more important role in ensuring security and defense within the framework of the SCO," he said.

Xu said Shoigu and he had hosted sessions of the intergovernmental commissions on military-technical cooperation for the previous five years.

"It is safe to say that every one of our sessions is a great success. We have achieved a uniform understanding on aspects of military-technical cooperation. I believe you have made your great contribution to our common cause," Xu told Shoigu.