On February 22, 2012, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping was invited to attend the Motherland Defenders' Day Reception held at the Russian Embassy in China.

While having discussions with Russian Ambassador to China Sergei Razov and Defense Attaché Alexey Lipilin, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng spoke highly of the fruitful results of China-Russia military cooperation. He expressed the belief that with concerted efforts of both sides, the military cooperation between China and Russia in various fields will further deepen and make new contributions to lifting the comprehensive Sino-Russian strategic partnership of collaboration to a higher level.

The reception was also attended by the leaders of China's military forces, representatives from related government agencies and military attachés of some foreign embassies in China.