The two men spoke in Beijing in discussions presented as focused on “security”, in the context of the war in Ukraine and the military rapprochement between Russia and North Korea, after Pyongyang announced ratification on Tuesday morning of a historic bilateral defense agreement with Russia.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun declared in October to his Russian counterpart Andrei Beloussov that their two armies must “deepen their strategic collaboration”, without however linking his remarks to the war in Ukraine, to which China has not responded. no intention of participating.
China, which has never condemned the Kremlin for the invasion of Ukraine and whose strong economic and military ties with Russia are viewed with suspicion by the West, presents itself as a mediator in the conflict.
But NATO denounced the economic support provided by China to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
In response, China urged the Atlantic alliance to stop “inciting confrontation” between blocs. Beijing also regularly criticizes the West for “pouring fuel on the fire” by continually delivering weapons to Ukraine.
