Ivanov and Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan agreed in their talks that the exercise will have a "significant" and "far-reaching" impact in relations between the two nations and their armies, Xinhua news agency said.

Details of when and where the exercise will be held were not released.

Prior to Ivanov's departure from Moscow, Russian sources were cited by the Interfax news agency saying Ivanov would discuss with Chinese commanders the joint fight against international terrorism.

China and Russia both face separatistm -- Russia from its Chechen rebels and China from the Muslim Uighur minority in its western Xinjiang region.

Russia is hoping to continue supply arms to China, which along with India, are its top two arms purchasers. Moscow, according to Interfax, has signed five billion dollars in arms deals with Beijing over the past three years.

Ivanov's visit comes days after China failed to persuade the European Union to lift a 15-year embargo on arms sales to Beijing, despite powerful voices in favor within the EU.

Russian-Chinese defense cooperation gained momentum in the 1990s after Western nations imposed the embargo following the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Cooperation was cemented in 2000 at a summit meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his then Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin.

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