Chinese Vice-President Attends Banquet Hosted by Thai QueenChinese Vice-President Hu Jintao, on behalf of President Jiang Zemin, attended a grand banquet hosted by visiting Queen Sirikit of the Kingdom of Thailand in the name of King Bhumibol Adulyadej Friday evening.This is the queen's first visit to China on behalf of the king at the invitation of president and his wife Wang Yeping. Queen Sirikit expressed sincere thanks for the warm hospitality she has received during the current visit and asked Hu to convey her gratitude to the president, Chairman Li Peng of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and other Chinese leaders. During her stay in Beijing, the queen said, she strongly felt the friendly feelings harbored by the Chinese people towards the Thai people, and also, the metropolitan luster of Beijing has left her with a deep impression. She expressed the belief that her visit to other Chinese cities afterwards would help her increase her understanding about the history, culture and society of China. Hu said the queen's visit is another major event in bilateral ties after President Jiang's state visit to Thailand last year and would have profound impact on the further progress of the traditional friendship between the two countries. He recalled his visit to Thailand this July and the warm hospitality he received there, saying there's a profound basis and strong vigor for bilateral ties, which, having withstood the test of time and history, has become a model for neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation. He said the present good relations can not be established without the joint efforts of top leaders, the governments and the peoples of both countries, adding the attention paid by the King and the Queen on the development of bilateral relations is highly important. China and Thailand are just like relatives of one family, Hu said, stressing so long as both sides keep regular contact and communication, they can continuously push forward their friendly relations so as to benefit people of both countries. |
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