From December 21 to 27, Russia and

China

will conduct joint naval exercises in the East China Sea.

They have been held annually since 2012.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

"The main purpose of the exercise is to strengthen naval cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," the message reads.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, during the active part of the exercise, it is planned to conduct joint missile and artillery fire at air targets, artillery fire at sea targets, as well as practicing joint anti-submarine operations with practical use of weapons.

Four Russian ships will take part in the exercises, including the Varyag missile cruiser;

six Chinese ships;

planes and helicopters from both sides.

As Sky News writes, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine, Russia has been trying to strengthen ties with China and views Beijing as a key ally in the anti-Western alliance.

The countries signed an "unrestricted" strategic partnership agreement days before the Russian invasion, but China has since expressed concern over Moscow's actions.

Relations between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation

As The Wall Street Journal writes with reference to Beijing's political advisers, during the 9 months of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, China took the position of "neither yours nor ours."

But now Chinese leader Xi Jinping has instructed the government to establish closer economic relations with the Russian Federation, which may indicate that Beijing has finally decided to side with the Russian Federation. 

The authors of the influential publication write that the leader of China

 "has been admired for  a long time

Putin" and that he is "doubling the bet on the president of the Russian Federation".

However, the recent escalation of the war in Ukraine forces China to maintain 

a more balanced position,

 because China still needs Western technology and close ties with other foreign countries to compete with the United States.

Diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine Valery Chaly believes that 

China is taking a position that is currently in favor of Russia.

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