Ecuadorian defense minister meets with Chinese military delegation

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce (L) meets with Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China, in Quito, capital of Ecuador, Nov. 12, 2010. (Xinhua/Hao Yunfu)

Ecuador's Defense Minister Javier Ponce met here on Friday with General Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China, and his delegation of senior PLA officers.

Ponce said the PLA delegation's visit to Ecuador, China's highest-ranking military delegation to visit the South American country, was a major event in Ecuadorian-Chinese military relations.

He said he believed the military delegation's visit to Ecuador will play a greater role in promoting the development of bilateral military ties.

The defense minister said Ecuador is willing to strengthen practical military exchanges and cooperation between the two nations.

For his part, General Chen Bingde said bilateral relations between China and Ecuador have been developing steadily since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 30 years ago.

Chen said that in recent years the two sides have witnessed increasing high-level exchanges, strengthened mutual political trust, and expanded bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, and international affairs.

The general said China much appreciated Ecuador's stance of backing the "one China" policy and Ecuador's support for China on the Taiwan and Tibet issues.

Chen said the past few years have also seen fairly great developments in military relations between the two sides.

He said China pays great attention to the development of Sino-Ecuadorian military ties and would like to deepen bilateral military cooperation and relations on a mutually beneficial basis.

During the meeting, Chen also gave a brief introduction to China's national defense policy and domestic construction.

The two sides also exchanged views on other major issues of common concern.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Luis Emesto Gonzalez, head of Ecuador's Joint Armed Forces Command, earlier met Chen and his delegation.

Chen, who arrived here Friday for a three-day visit, will also travel to Venezuela and Peru.

Source: Xinhua