Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah met separately with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Tuesday, saying that Kuwait values its ties with China.

 

During the meetings, the emir and the prime minister said that the peoples of the two countries enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges, and the two countries are sincere friends. They said that Kuwait spoke highly of China's important role in upholding justice and promoting world peace in international affairs and thanked China for its valuable support in a variety of areas.

 

They said that Kuwait and China, both developing countries, have shared interests in a number of areas, stressing that Kuwait is fully prepared to advance ties with China and expand bilateral cooperation.

 

Kuwait will observe the one-China policy, they said. For his part, Li said that Kuwait was the first Gulf Arab country to forge diplomatic ties with China, "We cherish a sincere friendship between the peoples of the two countries." He said that the two countries have supported each other and bilateral ties have developed steadily since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1971. Bilateral cooperation has been fruitful, he said.

 

The top Chinese diplomat said that China appreciates the Kuwaiti government's adherence to the one-China policy and will continue to support Kuwait's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 

He said that China is willing to promote mutual trust in the political arena and expand economic and trade cooperation with Kuwait, adding China is also ready to strengthen coordination in international affairs, so as to contribute to safeguarding regional and world peace.

 

Also on Tuesday, Li held talks with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, and they agreed to push forward Sino-Kuwaiti ties and ties between China and Gulf Cooperation Council members and Arab nations as a whole.

 

Li arrived in Kuwait Citya Monday evening for an official visit to Kuwait, and he will then travel to the Qatari capital of Doha for the Asia Cooperation Dialogue conference, in addition to visits to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)