BEIJING — Beijing wants to work with Moscow to bolster strategic communication and mutual trust in the military field, China's top general told Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov in Beijing on Tuesday, November 3, according to China's Defence Ministry, Reuters reported. The talks between Zhang Shengmin, vice chair of China's Central Military Commission, and Belousov underscored the strengthening of bilateral ties on political, economic and security issues seen in recent years, Reuters said.

Source: Reuters

Chinese and Russian relations have entered “a new stage of greater achievement and faster development”, playing a constructive role in upholding global strategic stability and improving global governance, the Chinese Defence Ministry cited Zhang as saying. Zhang said Beijing was willing to explore more highlights of cooperation with Moscow and to better safeguard the sovereignty, security and development interests of the two countries, as well as maintain international and regional peace and stability, according to the ministry's account carried by Reuters.

Source: Reuters

2active members left on China's Central Military Commission — Zhang Shengmin and President Xi Jinping, Reuters reported
5 of 7members appointed in the 2022 reshuffle who have been purged in China's anti-corruption drive
Last weekwhen Zhang was promoted to the ruling Communist Party's Politburo
Septemberwhen Zhang last met foreign defence ministers (Vietnam and Indonesia) at a Beijing defence forum

Why this meeting is being watched

Tuesday's encounter was the first publicly known meeting Zhang has had with a minister from another country since his promotion to the ruling Communist Party's Politburo last week, Reuters reported. That makes the choice of counterpart significant in itself: the first foreign minister received by China's newly elevated top general was Russia's defence minister, at a time when Beijing and Moscow have been deepening political, economic and security ties.

Source: Reuters

The meeting also lands against an unusual backdrop inside China's military leadership. Zhang and Chinese President Xi Jinping are the only two active members of the supreme military command, the Central Military Commission, after five of the seven members appointed in a 2022 reshuffle were purged in China's anti-corruption drive, Reuters reported. In September, Zhang held meetings with defence ministers from Vietnam and Indonesia on the sidelines of a regional defence forum in Beijing — contacts that predated his Politburo promotion.

Source: Reuters via SRN News

What is solid

  • Zhang Shengmin met Andrei Belousov in Beijing on Tuesday and said Beijing wants to bolster strategic communication and mutual trust with Moscow in the military field — China's Defence Ministry account, carried by Reuters
  • It was Zhang's first publicly known meeting with a foreign minister since his Politburo promotion last week, and Zhang and Xi are the CMC's only two active members after five of seven were purged — Reuters

What is only claimed

  • What, if anything, the two sides agreed beyond the public language — no agreement, exercise or arms announcement was reported from the meeting
  • Belousov's own remarks — no Russian readout of the talks was included in the reports available on Tuesday

What happens next: no joint exercise, arms deal or follow-up meeting was announced in the reports available on Tuesday. The next signal will be whether the “strategic communication” language is followed by concrete steps — a Russian readout, a scheduled joint activity, or further meetings by Zhang with other foreign defence ministers in his new Politburo role.