ST.PETERSBURG. May 21 (Interfax-AVN) -- The chief of staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Colonel General Liang Guanglie, who is currently staying in Russia, will visit St. Petersburg-based defense industry enterprises, a spokesman for the Leningrad Military District Headquarters said on Friday.
"The Chinese military delegation led by General Liang Guanglie will arrive in St. Petersburg tonight. The Chinese guests will visit the Naval Academy, Almaz JSO and Severnaya Verf JSO," the spokesman told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Their agenda also includes a visit to the historic Avrora cruiser and a sightseeing tour through St. Petersburg. The delegation will leave for London on May 23.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has held talks with Liang earlier this week. The talks focused on the present state and prospects for bilateral military and military-technical cooperation, interaction in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and also the situation in Asia-Pacific Region.
During a meeting with Viktor Zavarzin, chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, Liang said that the Chinese Armed Forces will have been streamlined by 200,000 people by 2005. They also touched upon military technical cooperation. For instance, Liang expressed his gratitude to Russia for delivering SU-27 Flanker aircraft and combat ships to China.
China is Russia's key partner in arms sales. China imported over USD4bn worth of Russian weapons in the 1990s. Over the past three years, Russia and China have signed USD5bn worth of contracts for Russian defense hardware, such as multi-role SU- 30MKM fighter planes, Project 636 diesel submarines, Project 956E and 56EM destroyers, as well as S-300PMU land-based and S-300 ship-based anti-aircraft missile systems.
China is believed by experts to account for about half of Russia's defense exports.