Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has pledged to work for closer ties with China's military during a visit to Beijing, China's Defence Ministry said Monday. Barak's statement came in a meeting Sunday with the chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army, General Chen Bingde, the ministry said.
"The Israeli side values the development of military exchanges and co-operation with China and wishes to work together with our Chinese friends to raise military-to-military relations to a new level," the ministry quoted Barak as saying. Chen told Barak that relations between their militaries were an important part of overall ties and have strengthened markedly over recent years, the ministry said. "There is tremendous potential for friendly co-operation between the two militaries," it quoted Chen as saying.