During the talks with his Ugandan counterpart Speciosa Kazibwe, Hu said the two countries have conducted sound cooperation in many fields such as politics, trade and economy, culture and health since the two countries established diplomatic relations 38 years ago.

Hu, who is on a three-day official visit to Uganda, praised Uganda's stance on adhering to the One China policy and its position in refraining from political contacts with Taiwan, saying this is a great support to China's national reunification efforts.

The two countries also shared identical views on issues of human rights, fight against heretic cults and anti-missile treaties, while the two sides have been coordinating with and supporting each other on international issues, he said.

China is ready to work with Uganda to elevate the bilateral relations up to a new level in the new century, he said.

China attaches great importance to develop friendly relations and cooperation with Uganda and has decided to remit partial debt of Uganda for the sake of development of the country's national economy, he added.

Uganda will be the first beneficiary of China's reduction of debts of African countries which was announced at the China-Africa Cooperation Forum held in Beijing last October.

Hu also briefed Kazibwe on China's efforts to crack down on the heretic cult Falun Gong, saying China wants to increase exchange and enhance cooperation with Uganda on the issue.

Kazibwe said that her country will continue to carry on its One China policy and recognize the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government representing the whole nation.

She said her people thank China very much for its decision to write off or reduce debt of African countries, saying the move will surely promote the Africa-China relations.

Uganda will strengthen its friendly relations with China in the new century, Kazibwe said, expressing the hope that more Chinese enterprises will come for cooperation.

She said Uganda and China should learn from each other in tackling heretic cults and establish a cooperative relationship in this regard.

After the talks, Hu and Kazibwe attended the signing ceremony of agreements on trade, economic and technological cooperation, technical cooperation, and remittal of partial debt of Uganda. Another two documents relating to China's donation to Ebola research in Uganda and oil exploitation in Uganda were also signed.

(Xinhua 01/17/2001)