China is ready to expand the scope of and improve cooperation with Angola, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said Tuesday.

Xi met Tuesday morning with visiting Angolan Vice President Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, who is in Shanghai to attend the 2010 World Expo.

Xi said during the meeting that China and Angola shared a deep traditional friendship. Bilateral relations had entered a new era of fast growth since Angola achieved peace in 2002.

Xi said the two countries had frequent high-level contacts, as well as growing political mutual trust, fruitful trade and economic cooperation and all-round development of cooperation in the fields of culture, education and health.

Xi said China cherished its friendship with and regarded Angola as an important partner of cooperation. China was ready to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges and share mutual understanding and support with Angola on major issues concerning each other's core interests.

Xi said reinforced and expanded relations with African countries were an important part of China's foreign policy of independence and peace.

He said China was ready to strengthen consultation and cooperation with Angola and other African countries to earnestly implement the follow-up actions of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Africa Forum.

Fernando thanked China for its selfless assistance to Angola and the important role it played in Angola's national rehabilitation.

He expressed the wish to reinforce the traditional friendship with China, expand long-term strategic cooperation, deepen trade and economic cooperation and strengthen coordination in multilateral areas.

Angola was ready to join China in deepening bilateral links, he said.