China and Iraq forged closer ties on Thursday by signing four
agreements in Beijing, including one waiving some Iraqi debt,
during Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's first state visit to
China.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Talabani met for an hour prior to
attending the signing ceremony of the agreements in the Great Hall
of the People.
Although the precise of debt lifted by China has not yet been
revealed, the other three agreements chart out closer cooperation
between the two foreign ministries, economic and technical
cooperation and the creation of a human resources training
program.
Talabani arrived in Beijing Wednesday evening, beginning the
first visit to China by an Iraqi head of state since diplomatic
ties began in 1958.
During the talks, Hu hailed Talabani as "an old friend of the
Chinese people", saying his visit would "add new energy to
bilateral ties and open a fresh chapter."
Hu professed that China would continue to aid Iraqi in its
reconstruction by offering necessary training programs through
specialized firms. He further proposed enhanced cooperation in the
capital areas of education, culture and health care, calling for a
yearly bilateral action plan guiding cultural exchanges.
China will also enhance coordination with Iraq on international
and regional issues, said Hu, adding that China will exchange views
with Iraq on issues of mutual concern through such established
mechanisms as foreign ministry-level consultations.
Hu said the China-Iraq friendship goes back more than 2,000
years, to the time when the ancient Silk Road linked the two
peoples together.
Since the two countries forged diplomatic ties, especially after
the new Iraqi government was established, China-Iraq relations have
entered a new stage of development, said Hu.
The Chinese government and people respect the rights and choices
of the Iraqi people and support the efforts Iraq has made to
safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity, said Hu.
The Chinese president also thanked Talabani for Iraq's steadfast
adherence to the one-China policy, a fact Talabani reiterated in
his meeting with Hu.
For his part, Talabani was in full agreement with Hu's
proposals, calling China a real friend of Iraq who had given the
country great assistance. He laid out his views about Sino-Iraqi
cooperation in the fields of trade, science and technology, energy
and culture.
In his weeklong stay in China, Talabani is also set to meet with
other senior Chinese leaders, such as top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao.
Besides Beijing, the Iraqi president will also take in China's
ancient city of Xi'an and Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu Province.
Talabani was elected president of Iraq in April 2005, becoming
the first Kurdish president in Iraqi history.
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)
