Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Chen Bingde met with Chief of New Zealand Air Force Graham Brian Lintott in Beijing on Monday, vowing to further expand cooperation between the two armed forces.

Chen told Lintott China values its military ties with New Zealand, and would like to make joint efforts with the country to cement bilateral military exchanges in a bid to promote all-round development of military ties.

Hailing the progress of bilateral relations, Chen said the two countries made great achievements in deepening their cooperation in politics, trade, technology, culture, education and other areas in the past 35 years.

He also expounded China's principled stance on the Taiwan issue.

In response, Lintott said the two countries have witnessed continuous growth of military exchanges in recent years, adding his country is ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in various fields.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2007)