Chinese Vice President Meets Latvian Foreign MinisterChinese Vice President Hu Jintao and Latvian Foreign Minister Indulis Berzins discussed the smooth progression of relations between their two countries in a meeting Thursday morning.Hu first welcomed Berzins, who is on his first visit to China. After the normalization of state-to-state ties between China and Latvia, Hu said, bilateral relations witnessed smooth growth, showing initial results in economic, scientific, technological and cultural areas. China respects the development path chosen by Latvia in accordance with its own national conditions and is ready to further the friendly and cooperative relations with Latvia on the basis of Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, he said. He hoped the two sides would make concerted efforts for enhancing exchanges and understanding and expanding cooperation. Berzins said he was pleased to be in China, describing his visit as "a good chance" to understand China's history and reality, in particular the country's reform and opening-up drive. He also praised the support given by China in the early days of Latvia's independence by recognizing the country and forging diplomatic ties with Latvia. "China has always been supportive to our efforts in realizing independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity," he told Hu. He said Latvia will firmly adhere to the "one China" policy and not have any official relations or contact with Taiwan, stressing that such a stance "will not change." He also hoped that the two countries will have active dialogue and cooperation, in particular in the areas of trade and economic relations, so as to promote development of the two economies. "We have always believed that it is beneficial to cooperate with China, " he said. Hu also briefed the Latvian foreign minister on China's views on the international situation and expounded on China's principled stance on certain issues, including Taiwan. |
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