SINGAPORE - Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said Friday that China's rapid development had made a great contribution to the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.

During a meeting with Zhang Qinsheng, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Ng spoke positively of the current military ties between the two countries and hailed China's rapid development.

In recent years, China had sent positive signals to the outside world by actively participating in multilateral security dialogues in the Asia-Pacific region, demonstrating Beijing's readiness to contribute to world peace and stability. All these were helpful for countries to understand China's rise and accept it, Ng said.

Zhang said military ties between the two countries had made tremendous progress and were an important part of overall bilateral ties.

Zhang, who is attending the seventh Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference here, said the exchange of visits between the countries' defense ministers and chiefs of general staff in recent years were of great significance in promoting bilateral military relations.

The seventh Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference was held from Thursday to Saturday.

Zhang gave a lecture Thursday, in which he introduced China's security policies in the Asia-Pacific and the construction of the Chinese army.