According to China's state-run CCTV (Military channel) on August 13, in the final stage of the Sino-Russian joint exercise, joint land and air operations were launched. It said the new weapons and equipment invested in this exercise accounted for 81.6%. 265 tons of ammunition were projected within 45 minutes, the firepower density averaged 228 rounds per minute, and the peak firepower peaked at 364 rounds per minute. It said that at the beginning of the exercise, four J-20 fighters and two JH-7 fighters attacked the "enemy" forward command post and air observation post. It added that 4 J-20s released jamming bombs for the first time. The Sino-Russian joint exercise was launched at the Qingtongxia Contract Tactical Training Base in Ningxia on the morning of August 9 and ended on August 13. The Defense Ministers of China and Russia also attended the exercise this time. CCTV reported that more than 10,000 people, more than 200 aircraft sorties, more than 200 armoured equipment, and more than 100 artillery participated in the military exercise in a space of less than 48 square kilometres. It observed that this is the first time that China has invited Russian troops into Ningxia, which is located in the hinterland of the country, to participate in the exercise. "This shows that the trust between the Chinese and Russian armed forces has reached an unprecedented height". China's authoritative, official Xinhua News Agency analysed that the Sino-Russian joint exercise conveyed three messages: (i) big changes have taken place in Afghanistan and the situation in Afghanistan has taken a turn for the worse. The emergency withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has caused the surrounding countries in Central Asia to become vigilant. The Sino-Russian joint military exercise is a warning to the outside world against provocations. (ii) it is a signal to the United States. Noting that the United States and its allies and partners have recently conducted a number of large-scale military exercises against China and Russia and a few days ago, the United States announced that it will hold an "epic-level joint military exercise codenamed "Large-scale Exercise 2021" across 17 time zones, which is clearly aimed at China and Russia", it said the joint exercise between China and Russia sends a clear signal of unity and opposition to the threat from the United States. (iii) the Xinhua report pointed out that in this military exercise, the soldiers of the two countries were wearing masks, which was almost impossible in previous military exercises. Even in the face of a severe epidemic situation, China and Russia have overcome all difficulties and held such a large-scale military exercise, "which shows the extraordinary significance of this military exercise".
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