BEIJING \/ MOSCOW
\nChinese troops will travel to Russia to take part in joint military exercises led by the host and including India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries, China\u2019s defence ministry said on Wednesday.
\nChina\u2019s participation in the joint exercises was \u201cunrelated to the current international and regional situation\u201d, the ministry said in a statement.
\nLast month, Moscow announced plans to hold \u201cVostok\u201d (East) exercises from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, even as it wages a costly war in Ukraine. It said at the time that some foreign forces would participate, without naming them.
\nIts last such exercises took place in 2018, when China took part for the first time.
\nChina\u2019s defence ministry said its participation in the exercises was part of an ongoing bilateral annual cooperation agreement with Russia.
\n\u201cThe aim is to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of participating countries, enhance the level of strategic collaboration among the participating parties, and strengthen the ability to respond to various security threats,\u201d the statement said.
\nUnder Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Beijing and Moscow have grown increasingly close.
\nShortly before Russia\u2019s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow announced a \u201cno limits\u201d partnership, although U.S. officials say they have not seen China evade U.S.-led sanctions on Russia or provide it with military equipment.
\nRussia\u2019s eastern military district includes part of Siberia and has its headquarters in Khabarovsk, near the Chinese border.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING \/ MOSCOW Chinese troops will travel to Russia to take part in joint military exercises led by the host and including India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries, China\u2019s defence ministry said on Wednesday. China\u2019s participation in the joint exercises was \u201cunrelated to the current international and regional situation\u201d, the ministry said in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-277913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n