Foreign Affairs Yesterday, 19:1711 Chinese defense minister praises Putin's contribution "in ensuring world peace"

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shanfu praised Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin’s contribution to “ensuring world peace” during his visit to Moscow. The international news agency “Bloomberg” drew attention to the video recording the speech of the Chinese official.

In a video posted on the Chinese platform NetEase, Li Shangfu, while meeting with Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, reads a previously prepared speech, during which he calls the Russian president an “excellent head of state” and notes his “significant contribution to the promotion of peace and development whole world”.

According to “Bloomberg”, the origin of the video is still unclear, as the minister’s name was not included in the Chinese state media reports, nor in the Kremlin’s information about the meeting. China’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to questions from the agency’s journalists.

TVNET already reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Defense Minister in the Kremlin on Sunday, April 16, noting that his visit follows a very productive three-day visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow last month.

China has refused to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has blamed the US and NATO for provoking Moscow. During their visit to Beijing last year, Russian and Chinese Presidents Putin and Xi issued a joint statement on “limitless” relations between the two countries.

Xi made an official visit to Moscow last month, underscoring China’s role as a leading country in bilateral relations as Beijing provides political cover and economic support to Russia as Moscow continues its war against Ukraine.

Officially, however, China insists on its neutrality. While Beijing has not officially condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has also not provided unequivocal support for Russian aggression.