The vice foreign minister on Thursday hailed Vice Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea as "very fruitful," calling it a major diplomatic activity of China with the South Pacific region.

Li's official visit to the three countries from Oct. 29 to Nov. 5 was of great significance to the development of friendly cooperative relations between China and the three nations, He Yafei said.

Consolidating political basis of bilateral ties

He said that, during the visit, Li met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and they reached important consensus on the development of China-Australia ties.

Both sides agreed to view their relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective because the importance of China-Australia cooperation is becoming increasingly prominent.

They also agreed to respect and take into full consideration the core interests and major concerns of each country, properly handle sensitive issues and strive to promote sound, steady growth of bilateral relations, He said.

Australia reiterated its respect for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a joint statement was released by China and Australia to strengthen their practical cooperation for mutual benefits.

During his visit to New Zealand, Li met with Prime Minister John Key and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. They stressed the strategic significance of developing bilateral ties in an active and comprehensive manner and strengthening pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

The New Zealand leaders reiterated that they respected China's stance on issues concerning China's core interests such as Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

During his visit to Papua New Guinea, Li held talks with Governor General Paulias Matane, Prime Minister Michael Thomas Somare and Deputy Prime Minister Puka Temu.

They pledged to consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, promote bilateral cooperation and support each other to advance their relationship. The leaders of Papua New Guinea reiterated their staunch adherence to the one-China policy.

Promoting mutually beneficial trade & economic cooperation

Li and leaders of the three nations stressed that their economies were highly complementary, and deepening mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation was in line with the fundamental interests of both sides.

They agreed to adopt a strategic approach in their trade and economic cooperation, pledging to actively expand cooperation in technology, new energy, bio-medicine, and environmental protection while promoting cooperation in traditional areas such as energy, mineral resources and agriculture.

Australia expressed willingness to become China's strategic partner in the areas of resources and energy. Both sides agreed to promote the negotiation process of the Free Trade Agreement based upon the principle of positive cooperation, pragmatism, balance and mutual benefits. During Li's visit, the two countries signed two cooperation agreements in telecommunications.

Before and during Li's visit, Australiat approved the application by China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., Ltd to acquire full ownership of Felix Resources Ltd.

Australia also approved China's Baosteel Group's second-version application for investing 285 million Australian dollars to acquire a 15-percent stake in Aquila Resources, an Australian coal and iron ore producer.

During his visit, Li and New Zealand leaders agreed to continue to implement the free trade pact between the two countries, and to expand the scale of cooperation in trade and economy.

The two countries signed a series of cooperation agreements on food security, inspection and quarantine and Chinese workers seeking temporary jobs in the island nation.

The leaders of Papua New Guinea said they were willing to advance cooperation with China in some traditional areas such as agriculture, forestry and fishery as well as in energy and resources.

During Li's visit, the two countries signed agreements on economic and technological cooperation as well as on preferential loans.