Chinese President Hu Jintao left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, starting a five-nation Asia-Africa tour that is designed to enhance China's friendship with developing countries in the region and reaffirm the basis of the Chinese foreign policy.

The trip, which will take Hu to Saudi Arabia, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17, is a showcase of the consistency and continuity of the Chinese foreign policy.

To boost China's ties with all developing countries in the world, including those in Asia and Africa, is the cornerstone of China's independent foreign policy of peace.

And Hu's choosing of these five countries, all of which are developing nations, as the destination for his first foreign tour this year demonstrates that China, as usual, attaches great importance to promoting friendly ties with its developing counterparts in Asia and Africa.

The tour is also of significance to China's efforts to consolidate the traditional friendship, deepen the reciprocal cooperation and tackle joint challenges in a hand-in-hand approach with the developing nations in the region.

Hu's visit to the five developing countries will strengthen the friendship with them.

China's relations with Saudi Arabia have developed at an incredible pace since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1990, which can serve as an outstanding example of the development of the relationship between China and all of the developing countries in Asia and Africa.

After China's Sichuan province was hit by a devastating earthquake on May 12, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz donated remarkable money and material to the earthquake-hit region, fully displaying the profound friendship between the two peoples.

The Chinese president visits Saudi Arabia as the initial leg of his first foreign tour this year, mirroring China's attachment of importance to the strategic friendly relations with this country.

Hu's four-nation visit to Africa is aimed at furthering the traditional China-Africa friendship.

China and Africa developed their relations through turbulent times of wars of national liberation and independence. In the new era, the two sides need each other for common development.

The establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has offered a mechanism that ensures practical cooperation between the two sides.

In recent years, especially after the the Beijing Summit of the forum in 2006, China-Africa relations have developed very fast. The measures pledged during the summit have been steadily carried out and the new type of strategic China-Africa partnership has been strengthened.

As the Chinese saying goes, making friends might be easier during pleasant times, but they know each other better in the face of adversity.

Many developing countries, including China and Saudi Arabia, are facing grave challenges amid the ongoing global financial storm. The impact of the crisis is even harder on some African nations, especially those with a weak economy that heavily relies on foreign capital and assistance.

Under such circumstances, the Chinese government pledged not to cut its assistance to Africa but instead to expand trade and mutual investment with Africa on the basis of equality and reciprocity. The expansion was expected to help African nations strengthen their ability to sustain their development in defense of outside economic risks.

Meanwhile, China will urge the international community to fulfill its commitment to Africa and help create a sound international environment for African nations amid the financial crisis.

Hu's four-nation tour to Africa indicates that China, as a responsible country, firmly supports African nations during the crisis and China is ready to contribute to the economic growth of African nations and a healthy growth of the global economy.

Keeping faith is the foundation of credibility, and it is also the cornerstone of a continuous and enhanced China-Africa friendship.

The Chinese president announced an eight-measure policy designed to strengthen pragmatic cooperation with Africa at the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in November 2006.

Several months later, Hu paid a visit to Africa, during which a series of cooperation agreements were signed with an aim to implement the eight-step package for aid to Africa.

Now in 2009, the year to conclude the implementation of the eight-step plan, the Chinese president visited Africa again to exchange views with leaders of the African countries on the fulfillment of the commitments made at the Beijing Summit.

All these efforts made by the Chinese leaders showed their determination in fulfilling the government's aid promises to Africa.

It is also a manifestation of the Chinese government's governing ideas of "being true in word and resolute in deed," and its sincere wishes to help the African countries achieve independent development.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has said earlier that China was capable of fulfilling its commitments on the eight measures by the end of 2009.

Against the current global economic backdrop, the Chinese president is sending out a positive message to the world through his visits to five Asian and African countries that friendship, solidarity and cooperation are the spiritual driving force for the world's common development, and also the source of confidence in overcoming all the challenges and difficulties.

We have reason to believe that Hu's visits to the five Asian and African countries will surely contribute to promoting cooperation between China and the world's developing countries.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2009)