Top general goes to Russia for talks on 'pressing issues'
Regional security, arms trade and joint weapons development on the agenda
The vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission arrived in Moscow yesterday at the start of a five-day Russian visit.
The Russian Defence Ministry said General Guo Boxiong would meet Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov to discuss 'the most pressing problems of international relations, particularly those affecting security in the Asia-Pacific region'.
Before leaving Russia on Friday, General Guo will also visit the Russian General Staff Military Academy.
Xinhua said General Guo's entourage included senior officers of the Beijing Military District Command, the Second Artillery Corps, and the PLA navy and air force.
The visit marks the latest in exchanges between Beijing and Moscow on security issues in recent months.
Last month, President Hu Jintao met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, during a summit of the six-nation Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. In December, General Guo's counterpart on the Central Military Commission, Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan , also visited Moscow.
Analysts said expanding Beijing's arms purchases from Moscow, and the North Korean nuclear crisis would top General Guo's agenda. Beijing is the largest customer for Russian arms, buying an estimated US$2.5 billion worth of hi-tech weaponry in 2002, including Su-27 fighter jets.
Ji Zhiye , a Sino-Russian expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the two sides were strengthening their military links and may soon make some breakthroughs in joint research on weapons.
In June, outgoing Russian ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, was quoted by the media as saying that Russia and India were considering inviting China to join their plan to develop a fifth-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft.
Taiwan's plan to spend US$20 billion to buy an array of US arms, including eight diesel-powered submarines, six Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile systems and 12 P3C anti-submarine aircraft is also a factor in Sino-Russian relations, particularly China's interest in acquiring more Russian military technology.
On the North Korean nuclear issue, Professor Ji said Beijing and Moscow were eager to expand their roles in stabilising the peninsula, particularly as influential neighbours to Pyongyang. 'China and Russia want to co-ordinate their efforts in preventing the crisis in North Korea,' the professor said.
Despite the closer ties, Dimitry Evstafiev of the Moscow-based PIR Centre for Policy Studies said there were deep suspicions of Beijing within Moscow security circles which would be an obstacle to closer military relations.
