China has dispatched a convoy of warships for its first ever naval exercises in the Mediterranean, together with a Russian flotilla. 

The drills demonstrate a strengthening bond between Moscow and Beijing, who – despite having no formal military alliance – see their combined might as a counterbalance to US power. 

Both countries have been modernising their armed forces, and while their equipment still lags behind top-end Western technology, experts say they are closing the gap. 

Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 vowing to dedicate his presidency to building the "Chinese Dream" of the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". 

Part of that dream involves a major overhaul of China's 2.3 million-man military which is three-times the size of Russia's but which critics say has become bloated, corrupt and unfit for battle.