China, New Zealand vow to further military cooperation

BEIJING, Sept. 22 -- China and New Zealand agreed here Tuesday to

further military cooperation in various fields.

Recently, China and New Zealand enjoy the best relations ever in history

with frequent high-level visits, deepening political mutual trust, rapid growth

of economic and trade cooperation and good communication and coordination in

major international and regional issues, said Chinese Defense Minister Liang

Guanglie.

Liang made the remarks while holding talks with visiting New Zealand's

Minister of Defense Wayne Mapp.

Bilateral military ties have maintained a good momentum of development with

expanding cooperation, Liang said.

China expects to, together with New Zealand, strengthen bilateral

high-level visits and strategic dialogues and actively promote the pragmatic

cooperation of the two armed forces, Liang said.

Mapp said New Zealand-China relations are one of the most important

bilateral relations of New Zealand and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of

China is an essential force in safeguarding the stability and security of the

Asia-Pacific region.

He said that New Zealand is willing to enhance communication and

coordination with China on regional security issues and boost military

cooperation in fields of peace-keeping, anti-terrorism and humanitarian

assistance, so as to promote the continuous development of bilateral relations.

Mapp arrived in Beijing Tuesday morning, starting his three-day official

friendly visit to China.