More than 10,000 China, Russia soldiers to attend joint drill in Ningxia

Name: China, Russia foreign ministers meet as countries stand ‘back to back’ amid rise in US tensions
Uploaded: 2021-07-29T13:30:05.000Z
Duration: 1 min 12 s
Description: China, Russia foreign ministers meet as countries stand ‘back to back’ amid rise in US tensions

Announcement from Beijing comes amid deteriorating relations between both countries and the US

Exercise, scheduled for early August, will ‘consolidate cooperation’ and ‘maintain regional peace’

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Chinese and Russian marines hug during a joint naval drill in China's Guangdong province in 2016. The two nations say their troops will stage an exercise together in Ningxia in August. Photo: Xinhua

Teddy Ng

Published: 9:30pm, 29 Jul 2021Updated: 11:27pm, 29 Jul 2021

More than 10,000 troops from China and Russia will stage a drill together in a further tightening of their defence partnership.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Thursday that the exercise in China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region would take place in early August.

The move comes as both countries face a deteriorating relationship with the US.

“The purpose of this exercise is to consolidate and develop a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia,” Wu said during a regular press briefing in Beijing.

“It will also further demonstrate the determination and ability of both sides to combat terrorist forces and jointly maintain regional peace and security.”

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China, Russia foreign ministers meet as countries stand ‘back to back’ amid rise in US tensions

Wu said Chinese troops will come mostly from the Western Theatre Command, China’s largest military area, which oversees regions including Xinjiang and Tibet. Russian troops will be from the Eastern Military District.