ASTANA — Visiting State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan held a meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Imangali Tasmagambetov in Astana on June 7.

During the meeting, the Chinese defense chief thanked Kazakhstan for its elaborate preparations and thoughtful arrangements for the meeting of defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as well as for the third international festival of military bands of SCO member states “Peace Horn”.

He said that under the guidance of the leaders of China and Kazakhstan, relations between the Chinese and Kazakh militaries developed steadily and achieved practical achievements.

The Chinese military is willing to deepen cooperation with the Kazakh side in border defense, personnel training and joint exercise in a bid to promote the all-round development of the military ties between China and Kazakhstan, he said.

For his part, the Kazakh defense minister Tasmagambetov sent his warm congratulations to the upcoming 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, saying that Kazakhstan highly values the development of military ties between the two countries and is willing to continue to deepen the exchange and cooperation of the two sides in all fields, including military technologies.

Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Hanhui, China’s Western Theater Command vice-commander and chief of staff Rong Guiqing and Kazakh vice-defense minister Talgat Mukhtarov attended the meeting.