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China calls for closer defence ties with Russia in ministers’ talks

By Thomson Reuters Jan 27, 2026 | 4:47 AM

BEIJING, Jan 27 (Reuters) – China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun ‍told his Russian counterpart on Tuesday that Beijing was willing to enhance strategic ‌coordination with Moscow ‌and jointly improve their capacity to respond to risks and challenges, state media reported.

“China is ​willing to work with Russia ‍to earnestly ​implement the important ​consensus reached by ‍the two heads of state, strengthen strategic coordination, enrich the substance of cooperation, ‍and improve exchange mechanisms,” Dong said in a ‍video ‍call with ​Russian Defence Minister ​Andrei ⁠Belousov, according to ‌Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Andrew ⁠Heavens)