Top China Army officer to visit India and Pakistan

China’s highest ranking defence officer will visit India next month, the first in a decade as the PLA seeks to expand relations with the Indian military and increase mutual trust along the border amid a series of incursions by Chinese soldiers.

General Fan Changlong, vice- chairman of the China’s military commission, will visit India and Pakistan in the middle of November, Chinese defence spokesman, Senior Colonel Yang Yujun said at a media briefing here Thursday.

These visits are regarded as part of Chinese military’s efforts to expand ties with its Indian counterpart and solidify close defence cooperation with close ally Pakistan’s armed forces.

The purpose of the visit is to implement the consensus reached between the political leadership of the two countries and enhance friendship and mutual cooperation between China and the two countries, Mr Yang said.

While Gen. Fan’s visit to Pakistan is seen as an attempt to solidify relations in the backdrop of China’s $46 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, his visit to India comes at a time when New Delhi and Beijing have made efforts to improve defence ties.

Gen. Fan is the highest uniformed official whose rank is above that of the defence minister in China’s military hierarchy.