China, Israel pledge closer military ties

BEIJING - China and Israel on Monday pledged to boost ties between their armed forces as their chiefs of staff held talks in Beijing, according to a news release from the Chinese side.

Chen Bingde, chief of General Staff of China's People's Liberation Army, hailed political, economic, cultural and people-to-people ties over the past 20 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel, the release said.

"Military-to-military ties between the two nations have also grown along with the overall bilateral relationship," Chen told his Israeli counterpart, Benny Gantz.

Chen said high-level visits as well as exchanges among technical groups of the two militaries have enriched their cooperation.

The Chinese side attaches importance to the ties with the Israeli military, willing to make concerted efforts with the Israeli side to deepen pragmatic cooperation and contribute to the overall bilateral ties, said the Chinese general.

Gantz, echoing Chen's remarks, said the Israeli armed forces look forward to more exchanges and closer cooperation with the Chinese side to make contribution to world peace and stability.