President Hu starts state visit to Egypt

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 30, 2004

President Hu starts state visit to Egypt

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao began talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on the evening of Jan. 29.

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Chinese President Hu Jintao flied to Cairo from Paris on the afternoon of Jan. 29, kicking off his four-day state visit to the country.

Egyptian President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak is expected to greet Hu with a welcoming ceremony soon after his arrival.

Hu said in a written speech upon arrival at the airport that he would hold talks with Mubarak and meet with other Egyptian leaders, discussing with them bilateral ties and other issues of shared concern.

Noting bilateral relations have stood the test of time and the changing international circumstances, Hu said the ties have been proceeding stably, while bilateral cooperation has been expanded and scored important results since the two countries set up strategic relations of cooperation oriented to the 21st century in1999.

He said China values its ties with Egypt and is ready to join the Egyptian side to consolidate and deepen, in a continuous way, strategic bilateral ties of cooperation in the interests of the two peoples.

It is the first trip to Africa by a Chinese head of state since China's new leadership took office. Hu's wife Liu Yongqing and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan arrived aboard the same plane.

Egypt is the second leg of Hu's four-nation tour after France, which will also take him to Gabon and Algeria for state visits.

On his way to Cairo, Hu made a stop-over in Toulouse and visited the A340-600 final assembly lines and A380 mock-up center of the Airbus, which is headquartered in the French city.

Chinese, Egyptian Presidents hold talks in Cairo

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao began talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on the evening of Jan. 29.

The two leaders are expected to confer on bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of shared concern.

Prior to the formal talks, Hu and Mubarak met briefly. The Egyptian president first extended his warm welcome to Hu.

During the brief meeting, Mubarak said that he had personal contacts with the three generations of Chinese leaders -- Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, and the two countries had conducted fruitful cooperation in various fields.

While noting smooth development of the Sino-Egyptian friendly relations, Hu hoped that his ongoing visit and talks with Mubarak would further boost the friendship between the two peoples.

Hu also vowed to make joint efforts with Egypt to promote their friendly cooperation to a higher level.

The Chinese president arrived in the Egyptian capital from Paris earlier Thursday for a state visit to Egypt, the second leg of his four-nation tour, which will also take him to Gabon and Algeria.

China and Egypt established diplomatic relations on May 30, 1956, and their bilateral ties have witnessed smooth development. Top leaders of both countries have exchanged frequent visits, and so have lower-ranking officials.

According to statistics from the Chinese customs, two-way trade exceeded 1 billion US dollars in 2003, an increase of more than 15 percent over the previous year, while Egyptian exports to China rose 75 percent.

Source: Xinhua

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President Hu leaves Beijing for 4-nation visit

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