Chinese armed forces have continued to boost mutual trust and cooperation with their counterparts in both developed and developing countries this year.

Military contact with foreign countries - an important element of the country's diplomacy - has scored remarkable achievements in the past seven months.

China and its largest neighbor Russia have maintained all-round and multi-level friendly relations in the military field.

The Chinese and Russian heads of state signed the Beijing Declaration and a joint statement on the anti-ballistic missile issue during Russian President Vladimir Putin's first state visit here this month, and the defense ministers of the two countries have met three times within six months.

"Development of the Sino-Russian strategic and cooperative partnership is undoubtedly conducive to the global strategic balance," said a senior expert on international relations in the Chinese Military Science Academy.

China and central Asian countries have also promoted the mutually-trusting and friendly relations.

Defense ministers of China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan gathered for the first time in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, this March, and came to agreement on a wide range of issues including military cooperation, cracking down on transnational separatists, religious extremists and international terrorism.

The bilateral cooperation between the armed forces of China and the central Asian countries will play a positive role in safeguarding regional stability and world peace, the expert added.

In developments with countries in northeast and south Asia, top military leaders of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea met each other in June; the Chinese defense minister visited the Republic of Korea for the first time; the chief of the General Staff of the Chinese army and the chairman of the Japanese Council of Joint Chiefs exchanged visits. Sino-Indian military relations have been restored with a China visit by a delegation of the Indian Defense Institute.

"The pragmatic diplomacy of the Chinese military plays a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and South Asia," the expert said.

The military relationship between China and the United States was suspended ever since May 8, 1999, when US-led NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia. Sino-US defense talks were held in Washington this March.

Since then, Chinese and US military delegations have exchanged more visits. US Defense Secretary William Cohen also visited China.

"China and the US have shared common interest and responsibility in maintaining world peace and development, and the resumption of Sino-US military relations will play a positive role in the security and stability of the region and the world," said a military science academy expert.

"Sino-US military relations have been developed within the framework of the whole Chinese foreign policy. Only if the US earnestly observes the joint communiques between the two countries and honors all its commitments on the Taiwan issue, the most important and sensitive one in the bilateral ties, can Sino-US relations develop in a healthy way," she stressed.

After the new leader in the Taiwan region was elected in May, Chinese military leaders on separate occasions reaffirmed the stance of the Chinese government on the Taiwan issue.

They vowed that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has the confidence, determination, and ability to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Top Chinese army leaders have also visited European, Latin American and African countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Britain, Germany, Argentina, Chile, Ukraine and Egypt in the first half of this year.

Military observers here pointed out that the reinforcement of the mutually-trusting and cooperative military relations between China and European and Third World countries will promote the multi-polarity process.

Just as Chinese President Jiang Zemin said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in March 1999, "The old security concept based on military alliances and build-up of armaments will not help ensure global security, still less will it lead to a lasting world peace.

This, then, requires the cultivation of a new security concept that meets the needs of the times and calls for vigorous efforts to explore new ways to safeguard peace and security.

We believe that the core of such a new concept of security should be mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation."

It is obvious that the flexible and pragmatic military contacts between Chinese and foreign armed forces, which also contributed to the country's diplomacy, have played a positive role in promoting military cooperation, peace and development and maintaining regional stability.

(Xinhua)