"China is willing to work together with Ecuador to promote friendly and cooperative bilateral relations, which have been advancing smoothly since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980," Jiang was quoted by a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying in the meeting with his Ecuadorian counterpart Gustavo Novoa Bejarano.

"It not only serves the interests of both peoples but also benefits South-South cooperation generally, as well as enhancing the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries," Jiang said, adding that both China and Ecuador are developing countries facing the same task of maintaining world peace and promoting mutual development.

The Ecuadorian president, who kicked off his four-day visit to China yesterday, said Ecuador hopes to enhance its political and economic ties with China, a good friend of his country.

The two sides have maintained frequent high-level political contacts, deepened mutual understanding, accelerated economic and technical cooperation, kept a steady growth in cultural and educational exchanges and maintained sound cooperation in international affairs, Jiang said.

Jiang said that thanks to the efforts taken by the two governments and the nations' entrepreneurs, bilateral trade and economic relations have kept improving, with effective cooperation in economics and trade and the start-up of cooperation in high technology.

Novoa said Ecuador welcomes Chinese investors, who have already made considerable investment in his country, to continue their investment and participate in the construction of Ecuadorian ports and airports.

Jiang appreciated the Ecuadorian Government's policy of sticking to the one-China policy.

Novoa reiterated that Ecuador sticks to the one-China policy and recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. The Ecuadorian president also briefed Jiang on the situation in Latin America.

The two countries yesterday signed three agreements including an economic and technical cooperation agreement and a cooperation agreement between the China Council for Promotion of International Trade and the Ecuador-China Chamber of Commerce.

(China Daily March 21, 2002）