China, Germany to promote military ties

The Chinese army on Wednesday pledged to continue boosting military ties with Germany. Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and a member of the Central Military Commission, made the remark when meeting with Werner Freers, the German Inspector of the Army. Chen said China places great value in developing friendly cooperation with the German army. And China hopes to make joint efforts with Germany to push relations between the two armies and add to China-Germany relations. "Relations between the Chinese and German armies have seen remarkable progress in recent years," Chen said, "while the cooperation structure has been continuously improved." The military ties played a positive role in both armies' construction and development, he said. Chen acknowledged the comprehensive and stable development of China-Germany relations. The two countries have maintained frequent high-level exchanges and strengthened political mutual trust, he said. Chen said, China and Germany have soundly cooperated in global affairs and made fruitful achievements in all fields together. "This years marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-German diplomatic relations," Chen said, adding China hopes to take the opportunity to work with Germany and beef up the bilateral ties. Freers said China is an important partner for Germany. The European country will promote mutual beneficial exchange between the two armies at all levels, Freers said, as well as comprehensively pushing further development of the strategic partnership with China.