MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russia and China have plans to increase joint exercises in 2016, Defense Minister Gen Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday at a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Gen Chang Wanquan.

"We highly appreciate a high level of Russian-Chinese contacts both at the state and defense levels. This year we are going to hold more exercises and events than in the past years," Shoigu said.

"Here I would like to underscore that we will conduct both ground and naval exercises," he went on to say. "Certainly, the aim is to strengthen mutually beneficial relations of partnership."

The Russian defense minister is hopeful that Russia and China will hold meaty talks at the 5th Moscow International Security Conference on bilateral cooperation in defense and technology.

Also, Gen Chang Wanquan suggested that "opinions should be shared and watches synchronized" in military cooperation.

"Thanks to personal efforts of the two heads of state over the past year, the relations between Russian and Chinese armed forces have been developing at the high level," the Chinese defense minister said. "The sides have been implementing agreements and working side by side in all spheres."

Chang Wanquan pointed out that nowadays both Russia and China faced a more complicated situation in the sphere of international security. This situation demands from Russian and Chinese defense agencies "to pull together and join efforts," he said.