I will just put it simple, no military visit is without interest by the visitor, first China has signed with Russia agreements to cooperate in the realm of the military area.
I terms of diplomacy both sides communicate a schedule to follow, specially for a high military ranking official visiting a highly out of access facility for foreigners.
Nope. It has already been shown that a visit does not necessitate an interest. In one example,
. In another example,
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Both examples fulfill your criteria, in that the visit was done by high ranking military officials and that the locations of the visit are strictly restricted to outsiders. Yet, the Russians were not at the plant to buy JF-17. The Americans were not in China to buy Chinese built naval combatants. Your association of a visit with an interest in purchasing is just the result of you running wild on imagination.
What you doing is simply in denial of the political realities of both nations, since cooperation in the realm of aero-engines is mutually beneficial for China and Russia.
Also the Chinese official goes with his entourage of technicians and he is in charge of the delegation and Xu Qiliang, is the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and he was was accompanied by Sergey Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister
see what the Salut page says
During the red carpet reception, Vladislav Masalov, Director General of Salut, emphasized in his speech the importance of cooperation with the PRC in aeroengine-building projects.
Colonel-General Xu Qiliang in his turn expressed the willingness to use best efforts toward ensuring that this cooperation be continued on a long-term and mutually beneficial basis.
Ironically, it is you who are in denial of the realities here.
There are reasons why Russia export of military equipments to China dwindle in recent years. On one hand, the Russians do not want to sell anything advance to China. On the other hand, China wishes cannot be fulfilled by Russia anymore even if Russia is willing to sell. As an example, China works on the J-20 rather than cooperating with Russia on PAKFA. In another example, China works on the Y-20 rather than cooperating with Russia on IL-476.
China also has strong resolve in going domestic. Take a look at the WZ-10 helicopter as an example. The intended engine for this aircraft is to be made by Pratt & Whitney. However, the cooperation got exposed, forcing China to choose another engine. China could have gone to Russia, but what did China do? China used the WZ-9 engine instead, irrespective of whether Russian engines are more powerful.
In the area of jet engines, there isn't going to be additional cooperation beyond what is already in place -- namely the AL-31 series. Russian manufacturers will continue supply engine parts, while China will continue to pay the manufacturers money. That's it. It is no different from you buying oranges from a store. Frankly, it shouldn't even be called a cooperation just as buying oranges is not a form of cooperation with the store owner.
So basicly the visit has a purpose is not a tourist destination.
So basically, any purpose is merely your imagination at this point. Military officials naturally like to see military stuffs, so the plant is to Chinese delegates like Statue of Liberty is to civilian tourists.
