Zhu spoke highly of the development of the Sino-Bangladeshi ties, saying China and Bangladesh are close neighbors and their friendship dates back to long time ago.

He said the friendship between China and Bangladesh, built on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, has remained unchanged, no matter what happened on the international arena or in their respective countries.

Zhu said the Chinese government has treasured the friendship between the two countries and attached great importance to their cooperative relations.

The Chinese government highly appreciated the firm stand of Bangladesh on issues concerning Chinese sovereignty such the issues of Taiwan and Tibet, Zhu said, adding that China thinks highly of the right positions that Bangladesh has adopted on human rights issues.

He noted that it is the Chinese government's consistent policy to develop and consolidate the mutually beneficial and cooperative ties between China and Bangladesh.

On the bilateral cooperation in the economic and trade fields, Zhu said economic and trade cooperation is an important part of the Sino-Bangladeshi friendship.

As a developing country, China has tried its best to provide all possible assistance to Bangladesh, for the Chinese government has given much importance to the Sino-Bangladeshi cooperation, Zhu said.

He assured his Bangladeshi counterpart that the Chinese government will continue to encourage and support well-established Chinese enterprises to invest in Bangladesh so that both sides can expand their cooperation in areas of common interest.

Prime Minister Zia praised the tremendous achievements that the Chinese people have scored in their economic development, saying a strong and prosperous China will be a great encouragement to the Bangladeshi people.

Congratulating China on its successful accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Zia said she believed China will play a more positive role in the WTO.

She emphasized that Taiwan is part of the Chinese territory and that Bangladesh will continue to uphold the one-China policy.

She thanked the Chinese government and people for their generous assistance to the economic and social development of

Bangladesh in the past years.

Khaleda Zia said there is a huge potential for the Sino-Bangladeshi cooperation, and believed it has a promising prospect.

Earlier on Friday, China and Bangladesh signed seven agreements on economic, trade and cultural cooperation, including an agreement on economic and technical cooperation, and an executive program of the cultural agreement for 2001-2003.

The Chinese Premier arrived in Dhaka earlier in the day on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh, the first leg of his two-nation tour to South Asia, which will take him to India on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2002)