Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Rauf Rawabdeh on Sunday called for closer and cooperative ties between Amman and Beijing as part of the efforts to consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries.

Rawabdeh made the appeal in a meeting with Beijing Mayor Liu Qi, who is heading a delegation from the Beijing Municipality on three- day friendly visit to Jordan at the invitation of his Amman counterpart Nedal Hadeed.

During the meeting, the prime minister said Amman and Beijing shared the same aspiration for development and progress, and further cooperation between the two capitals will help develop relations between the two countries as a whole.

Rawabdeh briefed Liu on Jordan's efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Hussein to develop its national economy, particularly on the monarch's interests to build the kingdom into an information technology and software center in the Middle East.

Rawabdeh also thanked China for supporting the just causes of Arabs.

For his part, Liu Qi welcomed the idea of producing a working strategy to develop ties between the two capitals and affirmed China's willingness to enhance cooperation with Jordan. At a separate meeting, Liu Qi and Amman Mayor Hadeed discussed ways of promoting friendly cooperation between the two capitals in various fields, including the exchange of expertise on city development, environmental protection and traffic management. Hadeed also accepted an invitation from Liu Qi to visit Beijing.