During their talks Sunday evening, Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, and Acting Speaker of the Icelandic parliament Gudmundur Arni Stefansson agreed that joint efforts should be made to further promote the exchanges between the two countries in all fields.

Li, who arrived here Saturday on a four-day official visit, said he hoped his current visit to Iceland will help strengthen the cooperative ties between the two countries, especially cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries.

Noting that relations between Iceland and China have been developing smoothly in recent years, Stefansson said Iceland attaches great importance to its ties with China and hopes to further strengthen its friendship with China, deepen mutual understanding and push forward the bilateral ties.

Impressed by Iceland's economic achievements, Li said the economic success of Iceland again proves that only by choosing a path of development according to its specific conditions can a nation succeed in economic construction.

Stefansson agreed with Li and said Iceland respects the cultural traditions and histories of other countries and their choice of ways of development. Every country has the right to its own way of development, he stressed.

(People’s Daily 09/04/2000)