New Delhi (Sputnik): India gave a ceremonial welcome to the Chinese defense minister and state councilor, Wei Fenghe, on his arrival in New Delhi for talks with his counterpart, Nirmala Sitharaman. The delegation level talks, which exceeded the schedule by more than an hour on Thursday, yielded more than anyone expected.
The two countries decided to expand "the engagement between their armed forces relating to training, joint exercises and other professional interactions," a statement by the Indian Defense Ministry read.
"The Indian Defense Minister also proposed that China should have more interactions among the chiefs of forces at regular intervals," according to sources.
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The 27-member Chinese delegation consisted of key military officials, including Vice Chief of the Central Military Commission Air Marshal Dingqui Chang and Lieutenant General Guiqing Rong, vice commander of the Western Theatre Command, which handles the entire border with India.
"Both sides also decided to work towards a new bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense exchanges and cooperation to replace the MoU signed in 2006," the Indian Defense Ministry statement added.
India also conveyed to China that border area development activities should not be treated as suspicious — an idea that was aptly reciprocated by China.