China vows to advance strategic cooperative partnership with Laos
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China vows to push forward bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Laos and bring benefits to the two peoples.
The pledge was made by the Chinese ambassador to Laos during an interview with Xinhua ahead of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to the country.
Xi is scheduled to pay an official visit to Laos from June 15 to 16.
Ambassador Bu Jian'guo told Xinhua that the Chinese visitor is scheduled to meet party and state leaders of Laos and attend the signing ceremony of bilateral cooperation agreements during his stay.
"The visit will add to the momentum of frequent high-level visits, strengthen understanding and trust between the two peoples and consolidate traditional friendship," said Bu.
"It will push forward multi-faceted cooperation and advance bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership," the ambassador added.
Bu said China and Laos decided to lift bilateral ties to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership last year in a spirit of lasting stability, good-neighborliness and friendship, mutual trust and cooperation in an all-round manner.
The two countries vowed to be good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners, he said.
China attaches great importance to bilateral ties and cherishes close friendship with Laos, he added.
Laos has been giving solid support to China on major issues of core interests over the past years while China has been extending help to Laos' social and economic development within its capacity.
With their joint efforts, the two countries have seen solid mutual political trust and frequent high-level exchanges each year, said Bu.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Jia Qinglin have visited Laos in recent years.
Choummaly Saygnasone, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and other Lao party and state leaders pay visits to China or go to China for conferences on a yearly basis.
Bu said the two countries had seen strengthened cooperation in economy and trade, culture, education, defense, party and government personnel exchanges, and other sectors.
Chinese official figures showed that bilateral trade reached 744 million U.S. dollars last year, a year-on-year increase of 79 percent.
In the first quarter of this year, two-way trade went up 48.2 percent over a year earlier to 262 million dollars.
China has become the second largest investor in Laos among all countries and regions.
