A senior Chinese military leader on Friday pledged to further expand China-Peru military exchanges and cooperation.

 

Liang Guanglie, member of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when meeting with Felipe Conde, commanding general of the Air Force of Peruvian Armed Forces.

 

"The two armed forces have kept frequent high-level exchange visits and friendly cooperation in recent years," Liang told Conde, who arrived in Beijing on Thursday.

 

China will make joint efforts with Peru to strengthen exchanges between the two air forces, and gradually expand to various fields and levels, said Liang, who is also the chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

 

Liang also spoke highly of the bilateral relations, saying the two countries have shared a deepening political trust since the establishment of diplomatic ties 35 years ago. The two sides have made substantial progress in many fields.

 

Liang expressed his appreciation for Peru's adherence to the one-China policy.

 

Conde said the Peruvian armed forces are willing to continue to enhance cooperation with the Chinese army and he hoped to see closer exchanges between the two sides in the future.

 

PLA Air Force Commander Qiao Qingchen attended the meeting.

 

At the invitation of Qiao, Conde is paying a nine-day official goodwill visit to China from Thursday. Besides Beijing, he will also visit Xi'an, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2006)