Officials highlight potential for expanding China-Poland defense co-op

Speaker of the Polish Senate Bogdan Borusewicz and visiting Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan during their meeting in Waesaw on Tuesday said there is potential for expanding bilateral defense cooperation.

Noting that Poland-China relations have maintained a positive development momentum in recent years, Borusewicz said furthering friendly relations with China remains one of the cornerstones of Poland's foreign relations.

The Polish Senate speaker said both sides are complimentary to each other in terms of military cooperation, highlighting potential for defense technology cooperation.

Chang, who is also a Chinese state councilor, said the recent years have seen increasingly-deepened political mutual trust, fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various areas and closer military-to-military exchanges between both countries.

He said there is still big potential for expanding China-Poland defense and military cooperation.

During the meeting, both sides expressed willingness to work with each other to further promote Sino-Polish strategic partnership.

Chang also met his Polish counterpart Tomasz Siemoniak on Tuesday. Both officials called for stepped-up exchanges between both countries' defense authorities and militaries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of the European Union have agreed to build partnerships for peace, growth, reform and civilization during Xi's European visit in March, which means China-Europe and China-Poland relations are facing new development opportunities, Chang said.

Chang proposed that both countries' defense authorities and militaries maintain momentum of high-level visits, initiate defense strategic consultations and expand the scope of bilateral defense and military exchanges.

Siemoniak said that Poland and China are strongly complementary to each other and Polish defense ministry and military highly value relations with China.

The Polish defense minister called for further exchanges between the two countries' defense ministries and militaries as well as cooperation in personnel training, logistics, healthcare, among other areas.

http://www.ecns.cn/military/2014/09-03/132814.shtml