National flags of China and Saudi Arabia. /CFP
Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun met separately on Tuesday with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Beijing.
Noting that the strategic mutual trust between the Chinese and Saudi militaries continues to deepen, Zhang hailed the practical cooperation in fields including mil-to-mil exchanges, personnel training and joint exercises and training.
The Chinese side is open to cooperation with the Saudi military, Zhang told Khalid, expressing his belief that friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two militaries will yield more fruitful results.
Khalid said Saudi Arabia is ready to work with China to enhance practical cooperation between the two militaries in various fields.
Dong said China stands firmly with Saudi Arabia on issues concerning each other's core interests, adding that the two sides communicate and coordinate on international and regional affairs in a timely manner, effectively defending their common interests.
Dong called on the two militaries to build a more pragmatic and sustained cooperation paradigm featuring higher mutual trust, aiming to provide bilateral relations with long-term, stable and reliable strategic support.
Khalid said the Saudi side is willing to strengthen strategic communication with China to push mil-to-mil relations to a higher level.