Chinese defense minister meets Pakistani president

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met here on Monday with visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, pledging to strengthen friendly cooperation between the two nations' armed forces.

Liang told Musharraf that the Chinese armed forces are ready to deepen friendly cooperation with Pakistan to promote the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership of bilateral cooperation.

Hailing the increasingly consolidated and developed bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties 57 years ago, Liang noted that the two armed forces have maintained close ties and conducted exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

Musharraf said that Pakistan was satisfied with the development of relations between the two armed forces and he hoped both sides would continue to make joint efforts to safeguard regional and world peace and stability and make new contributions to promoting common development.

Citing Pakistan's and China's "all-weather partnership", Musharraf said the friendship between the two countries had a broad foundation and extensive contents and renewed itself as time passed.

Musharraf met with Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and top political advisor Jia Qinglin, on Sunday.

He arrived here on Sunday to continue his six-day state visit to China, before which he attended this year's annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Sanya City in the southern province of Hainan.