May 28 — China’s Defense Ministry said at a regular briefing that Xi and Putin
met in Beijing and issued a joint statement committing to deepen military ties.
The statement pledges to consolidate traditional military friendship, boost
military-to-military trust, enhance cooperation mechanisms, joint expansion
exercises and maritime and air patrols, and strengthen coordination in bilateral
and multilateral forums to address shared risks and uphold regional and global
security. The ministry reiterated that the relationship will follow principles
of non‑alignment, non‑confrontation and not targeting third parties, and said
China will implement leaders’ consensus, offer mutual support on core interests
and major concerns, and push strategic military coordination to a higher level.
