Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Practice: A Chinese guided-missile destroyer takes part in a navy exercise at the East China Sea off Shanghai in May. Photo: AP

Tehran, Iran: Two Chinese warships have docked at Iran's principal naval port for the first time in history, Iranian admirals told state television on Sunday, adding that the countries would conduct four days of joint naval exercises.

On Sunday, Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, reported that on Saturday, Chinese navy ships involved in protecting shipping in the Gulf of Aden stopped at an Iranian port for a "friendly visit". One of the vessels was the Changchun, a guided-missile destroyer, the report said.

The news agency posted images of one of the destroyers docking in the port of Bandar Abbas, where it was given a military welcome.

The Iranian and Chinese navies are scheduled to conduct joint exercises, starting on Monday, focusing on rescue missions, Iranian news media reported. China has been expanding the areas where its navy operates, most recently joining the effort to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

The visit to the port of Bandar Abbas is an example of the growing ties between China and Iran. China is already the principal buyer of Iranian oil, and Iran uses much of the profit from those sales to buy Chinese products, deals complicated by the international sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.

A Chinese fleet commander, Rear Admiral Huang Xinjian, said the visit was intended to "deepen mutual understanding and to enhance exchanges between our two countries' navies".

"I'm sure that this visit will encourage the constant advancement of friendly co-operation between our two countries' navies," he added.

His Iranian counterparts said there would be drills focused on safety at sea and fighting piracy.

"Discussing and studying the two countries' naval relief and rescue operations and drills, confronting sea incidents and accidents and gaining the necessary technical preparedness are among the exercises to be practised with the Chinese navy forces," Admiral Amir Hossein Azad, commander of Iran's First Naval Zone, said.