A top British military official met on Wednesday with visiting Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ma Xiaotian, pledging to strengthen bilateral military ties.

Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, said during the meeting that the British military "attaches great importance to the friendly relationship" with the Chinese military and expects more efforts to be made to improve mutual understanding and trust and to step up pragmatic cooperation.

Ma suggested that both sides should maintain high level exchange visits, steadily promote the communication and cooperation of professional personnel, expand cooperation and push forward the relationship between the two militaries.

Ma also met with Simon McDonald, British prime minister's adviser on foreign policy and co-chaired a defence consultation.