Premier Zhu Meets Nigerian PresidentThe Chinese government is ready to work with Nigeria to push forward their bilateral ties in the new century, said Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Tuesday.Zhu told visiting Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at a meeting that the Sino-Nigerian relations have been developing steadily since the two countries established diplomatic relations 30 years ago, and the two sides have maintained fruitful cooperation in the political, economic and cultural fields. He express appreciation to the Nigerian government for its commitment to the One-China principle and its support to China on the human rights issue. The premier said that both China and Nigeria are ancient countries with large population and various nationalities, and furthering the bilateral cooperation in all fields conforms to the common aspiration of the two peoples. As the largest developing country in the world, China is ready to promote its relations with other developing nations, Zhu noted. Obasanjo said that his meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin Monday was friendly, adding that his ongoing visit is aimed at promoting the existing friendly relations between Nigeria and China. He said that Nigeria and China have maintained good relations politically, and with the expanding economic and trade cooperation, Nigeria hopes to strengthen the cooperation with China in this regard. Zhu agreed with Obasanjo's view on economic and trade cooperation, saying that in recent years, more and more Chinese companies have invested in Nigeria, and the two sides have conducted cooperation in the fields of railways, ports, and electric power, and will cooperate in the areas of petroleum and telecommunications in the future. Zhu noted that China and Nigeria are economically complementary and have bight prospects for cooperation, believing that with the support of the two governments, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Nigeria will be further promoted. |
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