Politics The Chinese government denied on Thursday, the last day of the visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to Beijing, any negotiation on a military cooperation treaty with Venezuela, as announced by the Venezuelan head of state.

"I am not sure what kind of cooperation (President Chávez) mentioned. From the Chinese side, I can confirm once again that during this visit by President Chávez, the two sides did not talk about cooperation in military areas," said the Chinese Foreign Mnistry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, in a news conference when asked about the sale of military aircrafts to Venezuela.

Liu, who on Wednesday was present at several meetings held by Chávez, highlighted the economic, political and cultural agreements signed with Venezuela, but insisted: "I have not heard that the two countries have exchanged ideas on military cooperation."