Ukraine President Victor Yanukovych met in Kiev on Thursday with Han Changfu, a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, with both sides pledging to further improve bilateral cooperation.

Han, Chinese minister of agriculture, arrived here Wednesday to attend Yanukovych's swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.

At the meeting, Han conveyed President Hu Jintao's heartfelt congratulations on Yanukovych's inauguration.

The Chinese envoy said that China and Ukraine have traditional friendship and that China attaches great importance to its ties with Ukraine.

Bilateral relations have seen smooth developments and bilateral cooperation in various fields have yielded remarkable results since the two countries established diplomatic ties 18 years ago, Han noted.

Both countries are "good friends and good partners," and their effort to strengthen cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect conforms to their fundamental interests, Han added.

Yanukovych, for his part, stressed that the people of Ukraine cherish profound feelings towards the Chinese people.

The development of the bilateral ties has shown that China is a reliable friend of Ukraine. Both sides understand each other and have broad prospects for strengthening bilateral cooperation, said the president.

"I'd like to reiterate that it's a priority of Ukraine's foreign policy to develop relations with China," Yanukovych said.

Yanukovych, who won the presidential elections on Feb. 7, was sworn in on Thursday as president of Ukraine.