Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings January 12 spoke highly of the Ghana-China relationship while meeting with a visiting Chinese government delegation led by State Councilor Wu Yi.

During the meeting at the Presidential Palace here, Rawlings expressed his government's gratitude to the Chinese government and people for their kind assistance to Ghana.

It might be easy for Ghana to get the kind of technology and expertise from other countries, but not with the same kind of prices and kindness China could provide, said the president of the West African country.

That is why a close economic cooperation between the two developing countries is of great importance for Ghana's development, he said.

The president also called for joint efforts by the two countries in bringing about a more secure and just world.

Wu Yi said her visit, which started on Monday evening, is part of Chinese government's effort to find new ways and areas to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

She expressed the belief that the two countries would enjoy even more dynamic and fruitful ties in economic and political fields.

Wu will leave Ghana for Benin on Thursday morning. Ghana is the first leg of her six-nation African tour.

Economic ties between China and Ghana have seen significant improvement since 1972, when the two countries resumed diplomatic ties.

According to figures provided by the Chinese Embassy in Accra, the volume of bilateral trade amounted to 120 million US dollars in 1998.

So far China has invested in 78 projects in Ghana, which makes China the number two investor in terms of the number of investmen tprojects in this country.