International cooperation

CHINA MILITARY TELLS RUSSIA THEY WILL ‘JOINTLY DEAL WITH THREATS AND CHALLENGES’ AS TENSIONS WITH U.S. RISE

China's defense minister has pledged his country's support to the Russian army in the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the top U.S. military rivals.

Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe met Tuesday with Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleg Salyukov in Beijing. The meeting came less than a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the capital city and Fenghe emphasized that the military leaders "expand and deepen cooperation in all areas, and push for greater development of China-Russia relations on a higher level in the new era," according to a statement by the official China Military Online.

"Gen. Wei noted that under the care and guidance of the heads of state of both countries, the friendly cooperation between Chinese and Russian militaries has maintained a sound momentum of high-level development, and the two armies have yielded great results in such fields as personnel training, joint training and exercises, and military competitions," the statement read.

"He expressed the hope that the two sides would firmly support each other, strengthen all-round cooperation, jointly deal with threats and challenges, and safeguard regional and world peace and stability," it added.