Despite opposition from the West, Chinese Defense Minister Li will visit Russia and Belarus as a gesture of solidarity

Li Shangfu, the minister of defense of China, is now in Belarus and Russia as a sign of solidarity for those countries, which the West has attempted to isolate over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Li left on a six-day trip on Monday, according to the Defense Ministry’s social media account, which was run by spokeswoman Col. Wu Qian. During that time, Li will meet with defense ministers from various countries and give a speech at the Moscow Conference on International Security.

 

Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, will address the conference on the theme of “Majority World countries’ search for ways to development outside Western mechanisms, including strengthening multilateral associations of a new type,” according to the official Russian news agency TASS.

 

It said that attendees had been invited from roughly 100 nations and eight international organizations.

 

The article quoted the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that they would “discuss various aspects of security in the conditions of the establishment of a multipolar world order, ways to restore constructive international cooperation in the context of aggressive claims by Euro-Atlantic elites for world domination.”

 

Li’s presence highlights China and Russia’s desire to coordinate their foreign policies in an effort to overthrow the Western-led liberal-democratic system, despite the consequences to their economies and reputations.

 

A trip to Belarus, a strong ally of Russia whose territory was used to conduct the invasion last year, will come after that. He will meet with state and military officials there, have discussions with them, and tour military installations, according to the ministry.

 

Chinese officials have maintained close economic, political, and commercial relations with Moscow despite their claim to remain neutral in the crisis. China has also accused the US and its allies of inciting Russia.

 

China has consistently sided with Russia in rejecting US criticism of the invasion of Ukraine at international fora, but it has said that it won’t equip either side in the conflict.

 

In the first official military meetings between the close neighbors since a brief mutiny by the Russian mercenary organization Wagner, Li, who is prohibited from traveling to the US due to the weapons transactions he handled with Russia, visited Russia only last month to renew military cooperation.

 

Additionally, two Russian military ships visited China last month and participated in a number of cooperative exercises.

 

Li has severed all ties with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, rejecting a meeting with him at a recent forum in Singapore and declining to answer his phone call after the recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that crossed the continental US, in contrast to his close ties with Russia.

 

That is said to be the result of US sanctions against him, the balloon incident, US backing for Taiwan’s independence from China, disagreements over China’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea, and a continuous conflict over trade and technology.