By Gao Xinyu and Yin Xiangkun
Chinese PLA Navy sailors line up to see off the Russian naval taskforce.
QINGDAO, China, Dec. 10 -- On Monday morning, a Russian naval taskforce departed from a military port in Qingdao City in east China's Shandong Province, wrapping up a five-day goodwill visit. More than 100 naval sailors from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Northern Theater Command (NTC) lined up at the dock to see the Russian naval vessels off.
During the visit of the Russian naval taskforce to Qingdao, the Chinese and Russian naval sailors conducted cross-deck visits, friendly basketball games and various cultural and sports activities. In addition, senior officers of the Russian naval taskforce called on the officials of the Qingdao municipal government and the staff department of the navy under the NTC, and visited the PLA Naval Museum and some cultural venues with distinctive characteristics in Qingdao.
After leaving the port, the Russian naval taskforce navigated out of China's territorial waters under the escort of the Chinese navy's guided-missile frigate Yancheng (Hull 546). Then the two sides bid farewell on radio. The visit further deepened the friendship between the naval sailors of the two countries, enhanced mutual understanding, trust and pragmatic cooperation between the two militaries, and further consolidated consensus on safeguarding regional peace, security and stability.