China’s defense chief heads to Russia and Belarus on 6-day trip

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News August 15, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu embarked on a six-day visit to Russia and Belarus on August 14, 2023. Li will address the Moscow Conference on International Security and meet with Russian and Belarusian leaders during his visit.

During his six-day visit, China’s defense chief aims to bolster his security ties with Russia and Belarus as the two allies are facing political isolation from the Western world after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Spokesperson of China’s Defense Ministry Colonel Wu Qian announced Li’s trip. “Li Shangfu will travel to Russia from 14 to 19 August to attend the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security and will also visit Belarus,” Wu said. “During his visit to Belarus, he will meet and hold talks with Belarusian state and military leaders, and visit Belarusian military units,” he added.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also spoke about Li’s visit to Russia as he said that the two countries have “maintained strategic communication in different ways on various issues.” He added that “the two countries will continue to advance the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era.”

Moscow Conference on International Security

Li is set to deliver a speech at the Moscow Conference on International Security, an event organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also set to deliver a keynote speech at the event.

According to Russia’s state-owned media outlet, Representatives from 100 countries and eight international organizations have been invited to attend the event. During the conference, participants will “discuss various aspects of security in the conditions of establishing a multipolar world order, ways to restore constructive international cooperation in the context of aggressive claims by Euro-Atlantic elites for world domination.”

^{Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu with Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and President of Russia Vladimir Putin attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, April 16, 2023. (Image Credit: Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Reuters)}

Russia-China military ties

Military ties between Beijing and Moscow have become stronger in recent times. The two countries have held at least 45 joint military drills since 2012, the highest number yet. At least 20 of these military drills were bilateral exercises.

It is Li Shangfu’s second visit to Russia since becoming China’s defense minister in March. During his visit, he is also set to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, for the third time this year. The two met twice in April in Moscow and New Delhi.

Li is a senior military general from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and a veteran of China’s military modernization drive. He is also a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, which controls the military in practice.

*^{Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu speaks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 4, 2023. (Image Credit: Mark Cheong/The Straits Times/via Reuters)}*

Before taking responsibility as the country’s defense minister, he led PLA’s Equipment Development Department. He was the figurehead of China’s weapons transactions with Russia.

Li was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 for carrying out transactions with Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport. The most prominent transactions included the procurement of Su-35 combat aircraft in 2017, and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018.