Chinese Vice-President Starts Cote d'Ivoire Tour ����Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao wound up his three-day Ghanaian tour and arrived in Abidjan Thursday for an official visit to Cote d'Ivoire, the third leg of his 13-day four-nation African tour. ����The Chinese vice-president came here from Accra by special plane as guest of the Cote d'Ivoire government, with Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan greeting Hu at the airport. ����In his written statement upon arrival, Hu said since the two nations forged diplomatic ties 16 years ago, the China-Cote d'Ivoire relations have been proceeding smoothly under the care from leaders of the two nations and with concerted efforts by both sides. ����Areas of bilateral cooperation are continuously expanding, especially in the economic and trade sectors which have scored remarkable results, Hu said. ����"Continuing to consolidate and develop bilateral friendly relations of cooperation is in the interests of both peoples and keeping with the common aspiration of the two governments," he added. ����He hoped that his current visit will serve to promote mutual understanding and friendship, and push bilateral friendly cooperative ties in a sustainable, healthy and steady way into the forthcoming century, he said. ����Some other senior Cote d'Ivoire officials also went to the airport to greet Hu. ����Accompanying Hu on the current African visit are Vice-Foreign Minister Ji Peiding and some other Chinese officials. ����Later Thursday, Hu is scheduled to call on President Henri Konan Bedie. ����After the visit here on January 31, Hu will proceed to South Africa, the last leg of his first African tour, which will end on February 4. HomeNews 1999-01-29 Page1 Full Story in Chinese