Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Bangkok Sunday that China is willing to work with Papua New Guinea to advance bilateral ties with the South Pacific nation.

"China attaches great importance to its relations with Papua New Guinea and is willing to work together with the country to deepen mutual political trust and advance the development of bilateral ties while exploring new areas, new modalities and new channels of cooperation," Hu said during a meeting here with Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Michael Somare.

He said the peoples of China and Papua New Guinea have a long history of friendly exchanges, and that bilateral ties have developed smoothly in recent years through joint efforts.

Hu and Somare are here to take part in the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, which is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

The Chinese president said that the two countries have witnessed frequent exchange of high-level visits and marked results in economic and trade cooperation. Papua New Guinea has become China's largest trading partner among the South Pacific island nations.

The two sides have had close cooperation in regional and international organizations such as Pacific Islands Forum, APEC and the United Nations, Hu added.

Somare, for his part, said his country would firmly pursue its one-China policy and that it is committed to developing friendly cooperation with China.

Economic and trade ties between the two countries have developed very rapidly in recent years, Somare said. He thanked China for its selfless assistance to Papua New Guinea for its economic construction and social development.

Such assistance represents a concrete embodiment of the friendship between the two countries, Somare added.

He said his country is willing to constantly explore new areas of cooperation with China and that Chinese enterprises are welcome to participate in the exploration and extraction of Papua New Guinea's natural gas.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2003)