China’s defense leadership plans a diplomatic and strategic itinerary that widens its engagement with post-Soviet security dialogues. In a formal notice released by the Chinese Ministry of Defense, the schedule confirms that Defense Minister Li Shangfu will travel to Russia from August 14 to 19 to participate in the XI Moscow International Security Conference and to conduct talks with Belarusian officials during a stopover in Minsk. The disclosure outlines a multi-country program designed to deepen military-to-military exchanges and to explore shared security concerns across Eurasia, the Middle East, and surrounding regions.
According to the announcement, the travel plan is undertaken at the invitation of Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, and Viktor Khrenin, a State Council member and Belarusian defense minister. The itinerary prioritizes high-level discussions with Moscow’s defense leadership and Belarusian counterparts, highlighting an ambition to coordinate positions on regional security challenges and to reinforce defense-related cooperation in a period marked by shifting strategic alignments.
In Russia, Li Shangfu is expected to present at the Moscow conference, engaging in dialogues with Russian officials on defense modernization, joint exercises, and regional security architectures that involve multiple partners. The discussions are framed as part of a broader effort to align perspectives on stability in Europe and adjacent theaters, with attention to how collective security mechanisms can address evolving threats and geopolitical shifts.
During the Belarus portion of the visit, the Chinese defense chief will tour Belarusian military installations and meet senior state and military leadership to review ongoing and prospective collaboration. The exchanges aim to assess capability interoperability, training programs, and potential future cooperation that could influence regional defense postures and contingency planning across allied networks.
The Moscow Conference on International Security, scheduled for August 15, will gather defense officials, diplomats, and security experts to explore a spectrum of global and regional stability topics. Participants are expected to debate security trends that span Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe, with a focus on strategic balance, nonproliferation, and crisis prevention. The conference serves as a forum for exchanging viewpoints on how military and civilian actors can contribute to predictable, peaceful outcomes amid changing threat landscapes.
Historical observers have noted that the Russian Armed Forces and the People’s Liberation Army of China have built a robust partnership characterized by frequent joint exercises and synchronized training over the past decade. This evolving cooperation underscores a common interest in expanding operational readiness, sharing best practices in defense modernization, and coordinating responses to evolving security challenges across the Indo-Pacific and adjacent regions.
Other recent regional developments reflect a cautious approach to cross-border security dynamics, including efforts to manage tensions and to explore confidence-building measures among neighboring states. The tone of the upcoming discussions emphasizes pragmatic diplomacy, practical interoperability initiatives, and the pursuit of stability through dialogue, joint exercises, and mechanism-based cooperation that can adapt to an ever-changing security landscape.