The upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao will push forward Ukraine-China relations to a brand-new level, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said in Kiev on Friday.

During an interview with Xinhua, Yanukovych said that he and President Hu will sign a joint communique on developing strategic partnership between the two countries.

"I think this is an important achievement thanks to joint efforts from both sides," said Yanukovych. "The strategic partnership will push the bilateral ties to a brand-new level, and will allow the concentration of joint efforts on implementing large-scale projects of mutually beneficial cooperation."

Hu is expected to arrive in Ukraine on Saturday for a three-day state visit, the first by a Chinese head of state to the former Soviet republic over the last ten years.

Yanukovych noted that during Hu's visit a package of documents relating to a variety of cooperation projects will be signed.

Ukraine attaches great importance to developing friendly and cooperative ties with China, and firmly sticks to the policy to broaden and deepen bilateral cooperation, he said.

The Ukraine-China relations have been developing smoothly over the past one year or so with an enrichment of strategic nature, he added.

"During President Hu's visit, we will discuss how to promote bilateral relationship. I believe that active political dialogues are conducive to exploring potential in bilateral ties for the benefit of the two peoples," he said.

The Ukrainian leader said that the potential for cooperation between Beijing and Kiev is high, and the implementation of cooperation projects is the common goal of both countries.

He said that Ukraine considers China as a leading country with enormous prestige in the international arena.

"China is a strategic partner for us. It is one of the guarantors of nuclear safety for Ukraine. Therefore, the positive development of relations with Beijing is a priority of our foreign policy," Yanukovych said.

He added that fruitful economic cooperation with China is one of the determining factors for the successful modernization of the Ukrainian economy.

He stressed that the prospects are high for the two sides to cooperate in all sectors and spheres, including trade, science and technology.

However, the potential for economic, scientific, and technological cooperation is still not fully tapped. He said the two countries will intensify their contacts at different levels in this regard.

"We want to base our cooperation on innovative approaches and the introduction of high technology. Ukrainian-Chinese industrial parks are already working on it, and we want to intensify this work," Yanukovych said.

He said Ukraine has put forward some attractive proposals concerning cooperation in such sectors as mining, chemicals, agriculture, energy and aircraft manufacturing.

Yanukovych said he has full confidence in a sound development of future relations with China.

"The traditional deep friendship between Ukraine and China is a solid foundation for a successful strategic partnership," said the Ukrainian leader.