President Hu Jintao and his Yemeni counterpart Ali Abdullah Saleh sent congratulatory messages to each other on Sunday, hailing the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

 

In the past five decades, the Chinese-Yemeni relationship had stood the test of time and changeable situations, and had moved forward smoothly and steadily, Hu said in his message to Saleh.

 

In recent years, the two nations trusted each other in political affairs, and bilateral exchanges and cooperation in economic and other fields had been fruitful and beneficial to each other, Hu said.

 

The two countries had supported each other in international and regional issues and had cooperated closely, he added.

 

Hu mentioned President Saleh's state visit to China this April, and said China would implement the common consensus and related agreements reached between the two sides, in efforts to further the two countries' friendly and cooperative ties.

 

In his message, Saleh highly praised the sound development of the Yemeni-Chinese relationship and China's steady support for the Arabian countries and the unification of Yemen.

 

Yemen hoped to widen cooperation with China in the future to benefit the people of the two countries, he added.

 

On the same day, Premier Wen Jiabao and Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul Qader Bajammal also sent congratulatory messages to each other to hail the anniversary. Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Yemeni Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs AbuBakr Abdullah Al-kurbi also sent messages to each other.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2006)