China to Further Ties With Africa 　　China's Africa policy will not change regardless of changes in the world situation and in their respective countries, Vice Foreign Minister Ji Peiding said in Kunming on Friday. 　　At the end of a 13-day four-nation Africa tour by China's Vice President Hu Jintao, who stopped over in Kunming, Ji told reporters that China's Africa policy is based on the common and long-term strategic interests of China and Africa. 　　During his just-concluded visit to Madagascar, Ghana, Cote d' Ivoire and South Africa, Hu said that China treasures the time-tested friendship with African countries and both sides have always supported each other in their political struggles for independence and in national construction and world affairs. 　　Citing Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Africa in 1996, Hu said President Jiang has put forward a five-point proposal for building a Sino-African relationship of long-term stability and full cooperation in the 21st century. 　　He added that China will continue to provide assistance to African countries without any political pre-conditions. 　　The leaders of the four nations highly valued China's policy to Africa and promised to enhance contacts and cooperation between the two sides in various fields, with an aim to bring the stable, vigorous Sino-African friendship into the 21st century. 　　He said China will encourage its enterprises to invest in Africa, strengthen exchanges with their African counterparts and explore the new possibilities of mutually-beneficial cooperation between them. 　　He stated that China will develop various forms of economic and trade cooperation with these nations in line with the principles of mutual benefit to make the China-Africa cooperation an example of the south-south cooperation. 　　China respects the road of development and political systems chosen by the African countries and supports their just struggle for national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their efforts to maintain internal peace and stability, Hu said. 　　He said that the Chinese government will call on the international community, especially the developed countries, to pay more attention to Africa's interests and extend economic help to African countries. 　　China is fully confident that Africa is bound to have a bright future despite various difficulties at the moment, he added. 　　Hu exchanged views with the four African leaders on a wide range of topics concerning bilateral ties and international issues. 　　The Chinese vice-president also briefed the African leaders on the latest political and economic developments in China, reaffirming China's resolve to adhere to the policy of reform and opening to the outside world. 　　Hu began his Africa tour on January 24 with an aim to further consolidate the traditional Sino-African friendship. WorldNews 1999-02-06 Page3 Full Story in Chinese