Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac left Belgrade on Monday for an official visit to China to discuss relations between the two countries and bilateral military cooperation.

During his first visit to China starting from Tuesday to Saturday, Sutanovac will also discuss the security situation in the world and the region of Southeastern Europe where Serbia situates, Chinese diplomats in Belgrade said.

The Serbian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Sutanovacis scheduled to meet with China's Vice President Xi Jinping and Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.

Sutanovac and his Chinese counterpart are planned to sign an agreement on cooperation in the area of defense, according to the statement.

He will also meet with Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China, and Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei.

In a meeting with a Chinese military delegation headed by Chen Bingde in September, Sutanovac said Serbia highly values its relations with China and is ready to make joint efforts with China to strengthen their time-honored friendship and lift the relations between the two armies to a new level.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2008)