Chen's planned Israeli trip signals a thaw

BEIJING - The first visit of a top Chinese military official to Israel next week signals warming bilateral ties once darkened by Israel's cancelled arms deals with Beijing, but not necessarily a breakthrough in arms sales, experts say.

General Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), will visit Israel next week as the guest of his Israeli counterpart Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, the Ministry of National Defense announced late last month.

It will be the first trip of a Chinese military chief of general staff to the country. Yu Guoqing, an expert on Middle East studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who spent years in Israel, said that the military ties became frayed when Israel cancelled an arms deal with China.