'China will make efforts to enhance military ties with India'

BEIJING: With an Indian army delegation visiting China after a year-long hiatus, Beijing today said it would make "considerable" efforts to enhance exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries.

"Military exchange is an important part of China-India relations. China would like to make considerable effort with the Indian side to enhance the exchange and cooperation between the two militaries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing, when asked about the current visit of the Indian army delegation.

The eight-member multi-command delegation, which is headed by Maj Gen Gurmeet Singh of the Northern Command of the Indian army, arrived here on June 19 on a week-long visit.

The team would also visit Xinjiang and Shanghai and tour the local military installations and hold talks with the officials of those units.

This is the first visit of an Indian military team to China in about a year as an earlier delegation to be headed by the then Lt Gen B S Jaswal of the Northern Command cancelled its tour last year after China declined to provide regular visa to him on the ground that he headed troops in Jammu and Kashmir.

The defence exchanges resumed after the two countries sorted out their differences.