East Timor will establish diplomatic relations with China as soon as it becomes independent, Jose Alexandre Xanana Gusmao, leader of the independence movementsof East Timor, told Xinhua in an interview on January 27.

Before his departure from Beijing at the end of a four-day visit to China, Xanana said he was satisfied with the results of his first China trip, and the two sides are expected to establish representative officers in each other's territories before East Timor's independence.

During Xanana's stay in the Chinese capital, Vice-President Hu Jintao and Vice-Premier Qian Qichen met with him on separate occasions. Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan also held talks with the East Timorese independence leader, where the two sides expressed the willingness to establish and develop normal relations in the future.

"We thanked China for its participation in the United Nations mission (in East Timor) in the transitional period ... We also hope China will help us in terms of investment and technology within the framework of the United Nations," said Xanana, who leftBeijing this afternoon for Seoul, capital of the Republic of Korea,to continue his Asian tour.

East Timor, a Portuguese colony until 1975, was occupied by Indonesia in 1976 after Portugal's withdrawal. According to an East Timor direct ballot announced by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last September, 78 percent of the East Timorese people are in favor of independence from Indonesia.

"First of all, we express our gratitude for the help and support that we have received from a number of Asian countries," he said, adding he will also tell the hosts that the East Timoresepeople are facing "a very difficult situation."

The UN Security Council authorized the establishment of a United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor last October. The transitional period will last two or three years.

Underlining the importance of his Asian tour, he said that if East Timor is going to be independent, " I will make everybody believe that the East Timorese people love peace; we want to contribute to the stability of the region."

"We will be a member of the region, we know our obligations," he said.

Referring to his China trip, he said that he appreciates China's pledge to help East Timor. China announced during Xanana's visitthat it will provide a 50-million-yuan (about 6 million US dollars) aid package for East Timor's reconstruction.

Xanana, once a teacher and a journalist, had fought for independence in the jungle for 17 years, and was in jail for sevenyears as a result of his actions. The 54-year-old independence leader said, "I am confident in the future."