Li Ruihuan, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Thursday.

During the meeting, Li, who arrived earlier in the day for an official visit to Sri Lanka, said all countries, developing countries in particular, share the common desire to seek economic development and improve their peoples' livelihood.

China and Sri Lanka, both developing countries, should learn from each other and seek common progress through increased exchanges and cooperation, Li said.

Sri Lanka is the first leg of Li's current three-Asian nation tour, which will also take him to the Maldives and Japan.

Li described the Sino-Sri Lankan friendly relations as a model for countries with different social systems.

Thanks to the efforts of the leaders of the older and present generations of the two countries, the bilateral relationship has been strengthened and kept growing and the friendship between the two peoples has been deeply rooted in their minds, he said.

Li thanked the Sri Lankan government for its long-standing support to the Chinese government on the issues of human rights, Taiwan and Tibet and said China highly values its friendly and cooperative relations with Sri Lanka.

He pledged continued efforts to strengthen and advance the mutually beneficial cooperative relations between the two countries.

Kumaratunga expressed her satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations and thanked the Chinese government for its assistance and support to her country. She also expressed the hope

that bilateral cooperation in political, economy and trade and other areas would be further developed.

The president also asked Li to convey her invitation to Chinese president Jiang Zemin to visit Sri Lanka.