BEIJING, April 21. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities are aware of the inevitability of large-scale confrontation with the United States and the need for strengthening military ties with Russia, political scientist Nikolay Vavilov, an expert on Chinese affairs, told TASS on Friday while commenting on the Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu’s recent visit to Moscow.

"This is a conscious and well-considered decision by the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and the country's top leadership. It stems from an understanding of the inevitable and large-scale confrontation with the United States, as well as the need for close ties with the northern military and political partner [i.e. Russia]," Vavilov stressed.

The expert recalled that Li was the first member of China's State Council to be under US sanctions for purchasing Russian weapons, which in itself is "an important signal of China's current political system to the United States."

He noted that the Chinese defense minister visited Russia just one month after his appointment to his current post.

"This in fact continued the tradition of 'first visits' [to Russia] laid under Xi Jinping in 2013," Vavilov noted. "Moscow was the 'first foreign capital' to have been visited by the ministers of defense Chang Wanquan (2013 - TASS) and Wei Fenghe (2018 note) after taking office, but for Li Russia was the only stop. He did not continue his tour, unlike his predecessors."

Vavilov noted that despite the "obvious lack of information" about Li's visit to Moscow, one can conclude that "the emphasis was made on the training of the top command staff for the People's Liberation Army of China." According to Vavilov, its goal was also to expand technological cooperation between the defense-industrial complexes of Russia and China.

"The coinciding exercises of the Pacific Fleet and China’s Northern Fleet were a striking background for the visit," he added.

Li Shangfu’s visit to Russia

Li Shangfu visited Russia on April 16-19. During a meeting with Li Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that military cooperation between the two countries was strengthening their strategic relationship of trust. The Russian leader drew attention to the diversity of inter-army ties between Moscow and Beijing.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu received his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday. Military delegations from the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Military Academy of Russia’s General Staff and the National Defense Academy of the People's Liberation Army of China.