Chinese President Hu Jintao and his South African counterpart
Thabo Mbeki exchanged messages Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary
of diplomatic relations.
In his message, Hu said China and South Africa have witnessed an
all-round, rapid development in their relations since they forged
diplomatic ties 10 years ago.
The Chinese government and people value the friendship between
the two countries and always look at bilateral relations from an
overall strategic perspective, Hu said.
To continuously consolidate and strengthen Sino-South African
relations is not only in the fundamental interests of the two
peoples, but also conducive to solidarity and cooperation between
the two countries, he added.
"I am willing to work with you to deepen the traditional
friendship between our two nations, enhance an all-round and
pragmatic cooperation, and continuously push forward the Sino-South
African ties to new heights," said the Chinese president.
Mbeki said in his message that bilateral exchanges and
cooperation, with unremitting efforts from both sides, have made
rapid and huge progress over the past 10 years, and bilateral
tieshave developed into a mutually-beneficial strategic
partnership.
Mbeki said South Africa is willing to make concerted efforts
with China to strengthen cooperation in bilateral and multilateral
areas within the framework of a bilateral committee of the two
countries.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his South African
counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma also swapped greetings on the
occasion.
(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2008)
