The Chinese embassy in Amman held a reception on Thursday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Jordan and the People's Republic of China.

In his opening speech at the reception, attended by more than 300 guests, Ambassador Gong Xiaosheng hailed the Sino-Jordanian relations in all fronts, especially the diplomatic and economic ties, which have been constantly expanding over the past 30 years.

"Thanks to the efforts of governments in decades and leaders of generations in our two countries, the China-Jordan friendly relations have continued to grow stronger and achieved fruitful results from our mutually-beneficial cooperation," he said.

"Numerous developments have taken place on both sides in various fields as a result of the long-standing and exceptional relations between Jordan and China," he added.

China is currently Jordan's third largest foreign trade partner, with bilateral business transactions reaching US$1.031 billion last year.

The Jordanian guests highly praised China's active role in international affairs and acclaimed the enormous economic achievements made by the Chinese people.

(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2007)