The secretary of the Russian Security Council and former defense minister of that country, Serguei Shoiguvisited today the 15th Zhuhai International Aviation Fairwhich is celebrated this week in the city of the same name in the province of Canton.
Shoigu, who met with the Chinese foreign minister on Tuesday, Wang Yitoured several rooms of the fair in an apparent gesture of friendship between the two countriesreports Chinese state television CCTV.
The politician toured areas where unmanned combat equipment, among other devices, is exhibited, and visited the exhibition area of the Russian company Rostec.
Shoigu is in China for a round of strategic security consultations on his first visit to the Asian country since assuming his new role as secretary of the Russian Security Council.
China demonstrated its pull on the world stage by hosting a delegation of Saudi Arabia with its first pavilion at the event, as well as its close ties with Russia even as that country is isolated from Western nations and their allies due to its invasion of ukraine.
The part dedicated to commercial aviation at the air show was much smaller than in previous years, which gave prominence to the military technology. Equipment as varied as air defense systems, radars, missiles and aircraft They packed the venue, both inside and outside.
On his agenda is a visit to the fair, which is held in Zhuhai, a city in mourning after this week’s mass accident that left at least 35 dead and 43 injured, and where Chinese fighters are exhibited. J-22 y J-35Awhich according to the Asian country can rival the latest American models of the same class.
“Clearly, these advances suggest a continued extensive modernization of PLA capabilities to defeat American and allied intervention capabilities as part of a counter-intervention strategy”said senior analyst Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, referring to the People’s Liberation Army. “They are all coming together to make Chinese A2AD more lethal and expand its range.”
During their meeting on Tuesday, Wang Yi assured Shoigu that relations between China and Russia “have withstood the test of international ups and downs” and that the two countries have made “important contributions to the promotion of solidarity and cooperation between countries of the ‘global south’”.
“The more complicated the international situation is and the more external challenges there are, the stronger China and Russia must remain in solidarity and cooperation in defense of common interests,” the Chinese foreign minister emphasized at the meeting.
For his part, Shoigu asserted that bilateral relations between both powers are “an important factor of stabilization in international affairs,” in addition to showing his satisfaction with the fact that “the comprehensive strategic cooperation of both countries is at an unprecedented level.” precedents.”
Shoigu was dismissed in May as head of the Russian Defense portfolio, amid criticism for his management of the Ukraine war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, China has maintained an ambiguous position from which it has requested respect for “the territorial integrity of all countries,” including Ukraine, and attention to the “legitimate concerns of all countries,” in reference to Russia, with who has intensified their ties in recent years.
(With information from EFE and Reuters)
