Liang Guanglie, member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and chief of general staff of the PLA, met with Chalit Pukbhasuk, commander of the Royal Thai Air Force yesterday in Beijing.

　　Liang noted that China and Thailand have been friendly neighbors since ancient times. Over the past 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the relations between the two countries have all along developed healthily and stably. The two sides have always trusted each other and treated each other with sincerity and made efforts to continuously expand their exchanges and cooperation in various fields. The relations between the two militaries have also yielded satisfactory results in recent years along with the frequent exchanges of high-level visits and expansion of cooperative fields. The Chinese Government and the army cherish the Sino-Thai friendship and will continue to follow the principle of befriending and partnering with the neighbors, and work together with the Thai side to bring the Sino-Thai good-neighborly, mutual- trust and all-directional cooperation to a new high.

　　Liang also briefed his guests on China's national defense policy and the army building.

　　Chalit Pukbhasuk said that the Thailand and China have always been very friendly to each other, and the relations between the two militaries have become closer and closer along with the ever expansion of exchanges between the two militaries in various fields. He expressed his belief that his current visit would help bring about new and more development between the two countries and two militaries.

　　Qiao Qingchen, member of the CMC and commander of the PLA Air Force, was present at the meeting.

　　By Zhang Shun

　　(July 21, PLA Daily)