Seventy military officers from 42 countries gathered in Beijing
Thursday to celebrate the conclusion of their training courses
offered by China's top military university.
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They were each conferred a certificate of graduation from the 2004
International Symposium Course and the Training Course for the
Young African Military Officers, both held by the National Defense
University (NDU) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
(PLA).
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"China's top military university has made another new achievement
in offering training courses for foreign military officers and
academic exchanges with world armies," said NDU President Pei
Huailiang at the ceremony.
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Since 1999, the NDU has held six international symposium courses.
The 2004 session, lasting a month and a half, covered China
studies, Asian-Pacific security, global security and military
revolution.
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The two-week Training Course for the Young African Military
Officers was the second of its kind hosted by China, with the first
having been organized by China's Defense Ministry in the first half
of the year.
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Hans-Klaus Haacke, a German military officer, said on behalf of all
the officers that although they were representatives of continents
that have different cultures and religions, the Chinese staff
assisted them quite a bit by treating everybody the same.
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"There can be no doubt that all of us will return to our countries
more knowledgeable, with a better understanding of China and its
military and perhaps even with greater wisdom," he said.
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According to Pei, the NDU's training courses have become a platform
for military officers from China and other countries to carry out
academic exchanges and consolidate friendship.
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"The courses have not only deepened officers' understanding to
China's history and culture, reform and opening-up, and policy of
national defense, but also enhanced the mutual understanding and
trust between the Chinese army and world armies," he
said.?
(Xinhua news Agency October 1, 2004)