Chinese and Azerbaijani leaders exchanged congratulations Tuesday on the 10th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between their countries.
In a message to Azerbaijani President Geidar Aliyev, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said China and Azerbaijan have enjoyed friendly relations since the ancient Silk Road was in use and the two countries have witnessed a new era since they set up diplomatic ties 10 years ago.
Jiang said that thanks to concerted efforts by the China and Azerbaijan, bilateral ties have achieved great progress over the past decade. The two countries have been understanding and supporting each other's efforts to safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as developing their economies, he said.
Jiang noted that exchanges and cooperation between China and Azerbaijan have expanded and improved and yielded positive results in various fields, including politics, economy and trade, culture and education.
Sharing identical or similar views on many major international and regional issues, the two countries have supported and coordinated with each other, Jiang said, stressing that the continued friendly cooperation between China and Azerbaijan have proved to benefit the fundamental interest of the two countries and the two peoples.
In a message to Jiang, President Aliyev said bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and China have improved over the past years. He said he believed the friendly relations and fruitful cooperation would further expand and grow to the benefit of the two peoples.
Meanwhile, Aliyev invited Jiang to pay an official visit to his country.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev also sent a message of greeting to his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan on Tuesday. He said his country has given and would continue to give high priority to strengthening cooperation with China within the framework of international organizations and based on bilateral relations.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2002)
