Secretary of the Russian National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev. (Source: TASS)

In October 2022, Mr. Tran Van Thanh was appointed as Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Commission of China, the country's top security agency.

According to RIA , this will be the first meeting between the two officials. The annual bilateral security dialogue is expected to be a new lever for Russia-China relations.

TASS news agency reported that before the dialogue, Mr. Patrushev said that developing and deepening relations with Beijing is a strategic roadmap for Moscow and that Russia-China cooperation is not aimed against other countries.

The Russian official made it clear: "We prioritize developing mutually beneficial cooperation with China in all areas, supporting each other and strengthening coordination in international relations to ensure security, stability, sustainability and development in both the Eurasian region and globally."

Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow in March, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council affirmed that high-level relations based on trust play a special role in strengthening the Moscow-Beijing partnership.

“The arrival of Xi Jinping immediately after his re-election as head of state confirms the unprecedented high level of Russian-Chinese relations and outlines a firm intention to continue deepening them,” Patrushev stressed.

On May 19, the Russian government also announced the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to China on May 23-24 and will meet with President Xi Jinping.

Commenting on Mr. Mishustin's visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the cooperative relationship between China and Russia is very strong and has great potential.