China values friendship with Vanuatu, and will, on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, work with Vanuatu to raise bilateral relations to a new high, said Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing Friday.
Hu made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Vanuatu Prime Minister Nipake Edward Natapei, who started a seven-day working visit to China on Monday at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Hu pointed to the continuous development of bilateral relations in the more than 20 years of bilateral diplomatic ties, the positive achievements in bilateral cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, culture, education and health, and the establishment of relations between political parties of the two sides.
Noting that both China and Vanuatu were developing countries in the Asian-Pacific region, Hu pointed out that the consolidation and development of bilateral long-term and steady friendship and cooperation conformed to the fundamental and long-term interests of the two peoples.
He also elaborated on China's principled stance on the Taiwan issue, and expressed his appreciation for Vanuatu government's one-China policy.
Natapei spoke highly of the development of bilateral relations and mentioned China's support for Vanuatu in his country's struggle for independence and its economic and social development.
He said the Vanuatu people had always viewed China as a good friend, and Vanuatu would continue to abide firmly by the one-China policy and continuously expand bilateral friendship and cooperation.
(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2003)
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