China Says Wants Closer Military Ties with Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – China wants to have closer military ties with Iran, the Chinese defense minister told the visiting head of the Iranian navy on Thursday, state media reported.
Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan told Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari that the two armed forces have seen "good cooperation on mutual visits, personnel training and other fields in recent years", China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
"Exchanges between the two navies have been fruitful and their warships have paid successful visits to each other," it cited Chang as saying.
"Chang ... stressed China is willing to work with Iran to further pragmatic cooperation and strengthen military-to-military ties."
Xinhua also cited Sayyari as saying that Iran attached great importance to its ties with China and was "ready to enhance bilateral exchanges to push forward cooperation between the two armed forces, especially in naval cooperation".
Heading a high-ranking delegation, the Iranian commander arrived in China’s eastern port city of Qingdao on Wednesday to visit a naval base in the city and hold talks with Chinese military officials.
Sayyari made the trip to Qingdao as the second leg of his China tour. The commander has already paid a visit to Shanghai.
