ALMATY -- China is monitoring the presence of international troops in Central Asia as part of the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign, AFP quoted a top Chinese military official as saying on Monday.

China "pays close attention to how long the troops of the military coalition will stay in that region," the Deputy Chief of China's General Staff, Xiong Guangkai, was quoted as saying by Interfax during a visit to Kazakhstan.

Xiong added that China was "against any form or manifestation of terrorism and supports all steps by the anti-terrorist coalition."

However, Beijing also took the view that the U.S.-led military operations in neighboring Afghanistan should have "specific objectives so as to reduce casualties among innocent people," Xiong said after talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Kazakh Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev told a press conference in the capital Almaty that China had agreed to give three million dollars of aid to the Kazakh military for upgrading communications and special forces' equipent.