President Hu Jintao arrived in Khartoum Friday for a state
visit, which is expected to cement the friendship and expand
cooperation between China and Sudan.
President Hu flew in from the Liberian capital of Monrovia after
a one-day visit.
In Khartoum, Hu will meet his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan
Ahmed al-Bashir for talks centered on enlarging friendly
cooperation between the two countries.
They will also exchange views on regional issues and other
issues of common concern, according to a Chinese foreign ministry
official.
In recent years, trade between China and Sudan has increased
rapidly. In the first 11 months of 2006, trade volume amounted to
US$2.9 billion.
Cooperation between the two countries covers sectors such as
construction, agriculture, medical and health work and
education.
President Hu is on the third leg of an eight-nation tour of
Africa, which has taken him to Cameroon and Liberia and will also
take him to Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and
Seychelles.
Hu's Africa trip comes only three months after the Beijing
Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). At the
summit, leaders of China and 48 African countries discussed how
they could develop China-Africa relations and promote unity and
cooperation among developing countries.
The leaders agreed to establish and develop a new type of
strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual
trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges.
Earlier, the Chinese president described his Africa trip as "a
journey of friendship and cooperation."
He said that his visit to Africa aimed to consolidate the
traditional friendship between China and Africa, implement the
agreements reached at the Beijing Summit of FOCAC last November,
increase cooperation and promote development.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)
