China ready to advance friendly ties with Jordan

BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting King of Jordan Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein on Wednesday that China is ready to consolidate and advance the friendly relationship with Jordan.
Jordan is an important partner of China in the Middle East and the relationship has been growing steadily over the years, Wen said. As the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic links, the visit by King Abdullah symbolizes the importance that Jordan attached to developing bilateral relations, Wen said.
Wen said China and Jordan had seen rapid expansion of trade and economic cooperation, noting that Chinese companies had contributed to Jordan’s economic and social development through mutually beneficial cooperation in construction projects. China would continue to encourage good companies to invest in Jordan so as to strengthen cooperation in service trade and contract projects, the premier said.
China would promptly complete all aid projects to high standards in Jordan so they would become symbols of friendship between the two countries, he added. Wen said China would adopt active measures to increase imports from Jordan in order to resolve their trade imbalance. King Abdullah expressed the wish that the two countries carry out closer cooperation to bring about an even better future for relations. Jordan welcomed and would facilitate Chinese companies to invest in the country. Jordan would improve coordination with China in a bid to expand the scope of trade and economic cooperation and ensure the smooth progress of large cooperative projects.
The king arrived in Beijing on Monday for a four-day state visit. He met with President Hu Jintao on Tuesday afternoon. “China is ready to work together with the international community including Jordan, to continue to play a constructive role in easing tension in the Middle East and realizing comprehensive, equitable and lasting peace in the region,” said Hu when holding talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein.
Hu said China supports the international efforts on promoting peace in the Middle East, including the Arab Peace Initiative, and hopes relevant parties would, in accordance with relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the principle of “land for peace,” properly resolve conflict through dialogues and negotiation and realize peaceful coexistence. King Abdullah said China is devoted to promoting the cause of world peace and development. Jordan appreciated China’s constructive efforts on promoting the Middle East peace process and hoped that China will continue to play an active role in finding a solution to the issue. He said the priority for now is to promote the negotiation between Palestine and Israel towards concrete achievements.
On bilateral relations, Hu hailed Abdullah’s remarkable contribution to promoting China-Jordan friendship and appreciated the adherence of the King and the Jordanian government to the one-China policy and their support for China’s reunification cause. Hu proposed four aspects of measures to further develop China-Jordan relations, including deepening political relations, expanding economic and trade cooperation, widening areas of cooperation, and promoting exchanges in culture, education and other fields.—Xinhua