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SCMP Reporter

MILITARY co-operation between China and Germany will be greatly enhanced when Chancellor Dr Helmut Kohl visits Beijing on November 12, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

  During his four-day stay Dr Kohl will hold talks with premier Li Peng and other leaders on a wide range of issues including military co-operation.

  Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said the aim of improving military co-operation, stalled since the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, was to enhance overall relations.

  He stressed that improved military ties would help promote regional security, not represent a threat to other countries.

  'We hope to see the further development of military ties between China and Germany as a means of promoting overall co-operative and friendly relations between the two countries,' he said.

  'The main purpose of China strengthening military co-operation with other countries is maintenance of regional peace and stability.'   Analysts said Dr Kohl's latest trip to China would be the first to give such prominence to military co-operation.

  'His previous visits have focused almost exclusively on economic co-operation and investment, so it is quite interesting to see the military aspect come out into the open like this,' a European diplomat said.

  'Germany still has something of a historical legacy and military ties with China could make some people nervous.'   Dr Kohl's trip was preceded this week by a visit by German Secretary of Defence Jorg Schonbohm, who met Defence Minister General Chi Haotian and Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, General Fu Quanyou.



Military ties on Kohl's China agenda