China will continue to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation
with Samoa and push friendly exchanges forward, a senior official
of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said in Apia late Monday.
Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political
Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said in a statement that China
places great importance on its traditional friendship with
Samoa.
The statement was released at the airport immediately after Li
arrived in the country Monday evening.
In 1975, Samoa became one of the first South Pacific island
nations to establish diplomatic ties with China.
Since then, bilateral cooperation has been progressing rapidly
in such fields as culture, education, sports, public health and
tourism, the statement said.
Trade volume between China and Samoa reached US$13 million in
2006, a 116.7-percent increase over the previous year.
During the three-day visit, Li is scheduled to meet with Prime
Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and other high-ranking
official of Samoa.
Samoa is the last leg of Li's Latin American and Pacific tour,
which has brought him to Mexico, Venezuela, Suriname, Ecuador and
Peru.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)
