State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe met with New Zealand Defense Minister Ron Mark in Beijing on July 2.

China and New Zealand share extensive common interests in promoting peace, stability and development in the world, Wei said.

The relations between the two armies have maintained sound development under the guidance of leaders of both countries, he then said, adding that fruitful achievements have been made through high-level exchanges, consultations and dialogues, people-to-people exchanges, joint military exercises and training, as well as multilateral cooperation.

The two sides should further implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders and deepen strategic mutual trust, expand pragmatic cooperation to build a closer defense and security relationship, making contributions to the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand, he noted.

Mark said New Zealand is willing to deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation in various fields with China and push forward the continuous development of relations between the two countries and the two armies.