Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov arrived in Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart, Cao Gangchuan, for talks to strengthen military and technical ties between their two countries. The two are expected to preside over meetings of an intergovernmental commission on defense industry cooperation. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union 1991, China has become the number one customer for Russian arms makers. In 2004 the total value of the Russian arms sales to China is expected to top US$2bn.
Categories