Visiting top Chinese legislator Li Peng expressed his hope Wednesday that the friendly and cooperative relations between China and Oman will be further strengthened.

At a banquet in honor of him given by Omani State Council President Hamoud al-Harthy, the top Chinese legislator said he was delighted to have the opportunity to meet so many members of the royal family, of the State Council and of the Consultative Assembly as well as government ministers of the Arab state.

Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), is the first Chinese top legislator to visit Oman since the two countries established bilateral ties in 1978.

Al-Harthy called Li's visit to Oman an important event in Sino-Omani relations, saying the bilateral relations are very good at present and the State Council of Oman is willing to increase friendly exchanges with the National People's Congress of China.

Omani officials who attended the banquet included Consultative Assembly President Abdullah al-Qatabi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, Commerce and Industry Minister Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan, Water Resources Minister Hamed bin Said Aufi, Communications Minister Salem Abudllah, Higher Education Minister Yahya bin Mahfudh as well as two royal family members.

Li hold formal talks with Hamoud al-Harthy on Thursday. (See Later Reports)

Sino-Omani relations developed smoothly during the past 21 years. In 1987, foreign ministry officials of the two countries launched an annual consultative mechanism and bilateral trade reached 746 million US dollars in 1998 as China became the fourth largest oil buyer of Oman. That year, China imported 5.8 million tons of oil from Oman.

Oman is the last leg of Li's six nation Africa and Asia tour which he said is designed to "deepen understanding, enhance trust, promote friendship and expand co-operation."

The tour has taken Li to Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Palestine and Israel. (Xinhua)