Beijing: The Chinese and Indian militaries will conduct various exchanges and celebration activities next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, according to China's defence ministry.
China is willing to work with the Indian side to promote friendly cooperation and make more positive contributions to the growth of bilateral relations in the new year, Spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian told a news conference on Thursday.
He said the military relationship, which constitute an important component of the overall relations, improved this year with the care and efforts of the leaders of both countries, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The two sides have maintained strategic dialogues, carried out practical cooperation and strengthened border defence exchanges," Col Wu said.
Asked about the China-India "Hand-in-Hand 2019" joint exercise, Col Wu said the exercise was the eighth joint counter-terrorism training between the Chinese and Indian armies.
"It is a concrete measure to implement the consensus reached by the state and military leaders of the two countries, and a practical one to enhance the friendship between the two militaries, especially the grass-roots units, and to promote regional peace and stability."
The joint counter-terrorism training successfully concluded in India, bringing a successful end to this year's exchanges between the two militaries.
During the joint training, soldiers from the two sides had mixed team training exercises and exchanged experiences in counter-terrorism operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR).
They also had exchanges in culture, history, sports and culinary areas.
Through the joint training, the two sides improved their capabilities to jointly address security threats and conduct diversified military missions. The training also demonstrated the two militaries’ determination to fight terrorism and protect regional stability, and strengthened mutual trust and cooperation between them.
