PLA general holds talks with Suriname commander

Fang Fenghui, member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), held talks with Hedwig Gilaard, the visiting commander of the Suriname National Defense Forces, on the afternoon of May 30, 2013 in Beijing.

Fang Fenghui said that the people of China and Suriname share profound traditional friendship. The relations between the Chinese and Surinamese militaries have been constantly developed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries 37 years ago, and the relations have been persistently deepened and maintained a good momentum of development in recent years. The Chinese side is willing to work together with the Surinamese side to further expand the fields of military cooperation and deepen pragmatic cooperation in such fields as high-level contacts, reciprocal visits of delegations and groups, personnel training, and military cultural exchanges, so as to promote the relations between the two militaries to a new high.

Gilaard said that both Suriname and China are faced with the tasks of developing national economy and improving the people's living standards, and the two countries have carried out active exchanges and cooperation in many fields. The Surinamese side will continue to unswervingly adhere to the one-China policy. He hoped that the two militaries would tap the potential for cooperation and expand the communication channels, in a bid to make contributions to the development of the relations between the two countries.

Before the talks, Fang Fenghui held a welcoming ceremony in honor of Gilaard and accompanied him to review the guard of honor of the three services of the PLA.