BEIJING - Chinese and Belorussian airborne troops concluded their first joint training drills earlier this month, the Chinese Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The 83-strong Chinese special task force arrived in Baranovichi on July 5 and flew back to Urumqi, capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region Saturday evening after training with Belorussian paratroopers in Belarus' Baranovichi, according to the ministry.

During the 10-day exercise, paratroopers from both sides overcame challenges of language, geography and climate to accomplish the planned task with close cooperation and coordination, the ministry said in a press release.

It was not only the first drills conducted jointly by soldiers from the Chinese and Belorussian armed forces, but also the first occasion for Chinese paratroopers to leave the country for joint training with foreign soldiers.

The two armed forces trained together in counterterrorism, and the two-phased drills included training in mixed units and comprehensive exercises, according to the ministry.

The first phase of the drills included an obstacle course, hand-to-hand combat, parachuting, combat firing and anti-terrorism tactics. During the second phase, paratroopers encircled and eliminated "terrorists" by combining parachuting and tactical air landing operations.

The joint-training exercise serves to consolidate the traditional friendship between China and Belarus and enrich cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, according to the ministry.