On September 3, 2002, Premier Zhu Rongji met with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Zhu first conveyed to Kostunica cordial greetings from President Jiang Zemin. He said that Kostunica paid a successful visit to China in January this year, during which he and President Jiang Zemin reached broad consensus and signed the Joint Statement between China and Yugoslavia guiding bilateral relations. China is ready to follow the principles set in the Joint Statement signed by the two heads of state and promote the all-round development of bilateral relations in political and economic fields.

Zhu said that there have been traditional friendly relations and cooperation between China and Yugoslavia. Despite changes in the international environment and domestic situations, China-Yugoslavia friendly relations and cooperation have been developing steadily. China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia and the right of the Yugoslav people to choose their own road to development. China attaches importance to friendly relations and cooperation with Yugoslavia and would like to provide assistance within its capacity to economic reconstruction of Yugoslavia.

Kostunica said that the Yugoslav people admire China. It is a consistent and important part of Yugoslavia's foreign policy to maintain and develop relations with China. Yugoslavia follows China's development with great interest and hope to learn from China's experiences and use them in its economic development.