China, EU pledge to strengthen defense, security cooperation

 BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union pledged to strengthen defense¹ and security cooperation on Monday.

The pledge came during Defense Minister Liang Guanglie's meeting with Catherine Margaret Ashton, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

China has established bilateral² military relations with all EU member countries and China-EU defense and security relations have witnessed rapid growth, Liang said.

China is positive about promoting defense and security cooperation with the EU and believes that the two sides will make continuous progress in their cooperation under joint³ efforts, Liang said.

Ashton said the EU is willing to work with China to achieve long-lasting development and prosperity.

"Strengthening the two sides' defense and security cooperation will play an important role in developing overall EU-China relations, as well as safeguarding world peace and stability," she said.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional security issues.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。