Top Chinese general meets Russian defence minister days after Politburo appointment

Zhang Shengmin, China’s most senior uniformed general, met Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov in Beijing on Tuesday in his first publicly reported meeting with a foreign official since he became a member of the Politburo.Zhang, the vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), pledged to deepen military cooperation and strategic coordination with Russia during the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.He was elected to the Politburo last week at a key Communist Party meeting in a rare midterm appointment.