Niue's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Young Vivian met in Wellington on Monday with visiting Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

 

Li hailed the friendly cooperative relations between China and Niue. He said China paid much attention to the development of bilateral ties with Niue, and regarded it as a good partner and friend to promote cooperative relations.

 

He hoped the two countries could join hands to further push forward friendly relations and enlarge cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, benefits and equality.

 

Vivian warmly welcomed Li's visit, saying it reflected the good relationship between the two countries. Niue and China are both developing countries, and both face the challenge of development, he said.

 

Niue is thankful to China for regarding it as an equal and cooperative partner, the prime minister said. His government will firmly abide by the one-China policy, and is willing to strengthen the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and further promote friendly and cooperative relations on a mutually respectful and trustful basis.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2006)