President Jiang Meets S. African Vice PresidentChinese President Jiang Zemin expressed his hope on Tuesday that China and South Africa should spare no effort to push forward the development of the bilateral relations.China is pleased to see that great progress has been made in cooperation between the two countries although diplomatic ties were forged only two years ago, Jiang said during his meeting with South African Vice President Jacob Zuma. Jiang is on a state visit at the invitation of his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki. During the meeting, Jiang also praised the tremendous achievement South Africa has scored in the economic and social development since the apartheid was ended six years ago. He told Zuma that the talks between the two heads of the states on Tuesday morning turned out to be fruitful because the two sides reached consensus on many issues. Although the two countries have a short history of diplomatic relations, the contacts between the two ruling parties began long ago and they share similar views on major international affairs, Jiang added. The bilateral partnership relations and the establishment of a bi- national commission will help the two sides strengthen coordination and cooperation, Jiang said. He spoke highly of Zuma's contributions to pushing forward the development of the Sino-South African ties, and invited him to visit China at his convenient time. Zuma extended his warm welcome to Jiang, saying that Jiang's current South Africa visit is an important one. It is of great significance for South Africa to pursue cemented cooperation with China because such relations will play an important role in the African renaissance cause advocated by President Mbeki, Zuma said. He expressed his thanks for China's support to South Africa's struggle against the apartheid system. South Africa is the last leg of Jiang's five-nation tour. The visit has brought him to Israel, Palestine, Turkey and Greece. Jiang also met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Alexandria city of Egypt. |
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