China defence minister says willing to work with Russian military to have close communications

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defence minister Li Shangfu said the country is willing to work with Russia to have close strategic communications between their militaries, state media reported on Monday.

Li, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday, also said China is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation with Russia, said CCTV news.

“China is willing to work with Russia to make new contributions to the maintenance of world and regional security and stability,” Li said, according to the report.

(Reporting by Beijing and Shanghai newsrooms; Editing by Kim Coghill)