The French Navy is willing to boost cooperation with its Chinese counterpart, a senior French naval officer said in Toulon, France, on Monday.

 

This is the first time that the Chinese naval vessels, including the guided-missile destroyer Guangzhou and its supply ship Weishanhu, visit Port Toulon, said Jean Tandonnet, the French naval commander in the Mediterranean Sea, while visiting the Chinese destroyer.

 

Both the Chinese and French vessels are expected to hold joint military exercises on Tuesday, which marks the beginning of wider cooperation, he added.

 

He also expressed his hope that the two navies would also carryout anti-terrorism collaboration and assistance at sea.

 

The two Chinese vessels arrived in Toulon last Friday and will leave France on Tuesday after the exercise named "China-France Friendship 2007."

 

This the fourth and final leg of the 87-day voyage of the Chinese vessels, which have already visited St. Petersburg, Russia; Portsmouth, England, and Cadiz, in Spain.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2007)