On the afternoon of April 22, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Prime Minister Somare of Papua New Guinea in Jakarta. Both sides mainly exchanged opinions and reached common consensus on further expanding bilateral friendly cooperation.
Somare said that Papua New Guinea pays great attention to developing the friendly relations with China. Since the establishment of bilateral ties between the two countries, each generation of government of Papua New Guinea has been following the one-China policy and such a stance will never change. He noted that all the cooperation projects discussed between Papua New Guinea and China have been implemented and China's support greatly stimulates Papua New Guinea's development. The ongoing mineral resources development project jointly launched by the two countries moves forward steadily and he hoped to see further expansion of the mutually beneficial cooperation in this regard.
Hu said that China and Papua New Guinea maintain close relations and the bilateral cooperation is fairly fruitful. In terms of politics, both China and Papua New Guinea are developing countries and face the common tasks of developing the economy and raising people's living standards. In the field of economy, China has a vast market and pragmatic technologies compatible with the needs of south Pacific island countries while Papua New Guinea boasts abundant petroleum, natural gas, mineral and forestry resources. With strong complementarities both side enjoy great potential for mutually beneficial cooperation, which is also in the interest of the two peoples. With the relentless efforts of both sides, the bilateral economic and trade cooperation shows a momentum of strong growth and Papua New Guinea has become the biggest trading partner and investment destination of China among the south Pacific island countries. The two countries have also conducted close coordination and collaboration in the international and regional organizations including the UN, APEC, Pacific Islands Forum and ASEAN Regional Forum.
Hu stressed that the Chinese government attaches importance to developing relations with Papua New Guinea and expects to work with Papua New Guinea to strengthen exchanges at all levels, constantly reinforce political mutual trust, expand bilateral cooperation in such areas as mineral resources, fishery and tourism and promote the development of bilateral ties.
