Chinese Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman General Zhang Youxia Tuesday said that military cooperation between Pakistan and China was an important pillar of bilateral ties. The Chinese top general made these remarks during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. China greatly values its time-tested relations with Pakistan and its army and looks forward to further expanding the cooperation, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted the Chinese general as saying. He said that development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was aimed at bringing more benefits and prosperity to the people of both the countries. The generals also discussed areas of further bilateral military cooperation in the field of counterterrorism, arms and equipment technology and training. The Pakistan army chief thanked the vice chairman for the Chinese support and cooperation. On Monday, General Bajwa visited the headquarters of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and met his counterpart General Han Weiguo. Both the commanders discussed regional security environment, security of CPEC and bilateral security cooperation, ISPR DG Major General Asif Ghafoor said on his official Twitter handle. The Chinese general expressed his keen desire to benefit from Pakistan Army’s combat experience and expand the bilateral cooperation. Earlier this month, China said joint exercises of Chinese and Pakistan armed forces, training and competitions would help improve ability to deal with multiple security threats and jointly maintain regional peace and stability. The Chinese defence ministry’s spokesperson had said these exercises would also help the military of participating countries to enhance understanding and deepen mutual trust. Published in Daily Times, September 19th 2018.