On November 13, Premier Zhu Rongji met with visiting Rwandan President Paul Kagame at Zhongnanhai.

Zhu welcomed Kagame's visit at the 30th anniversary of Sino-Rwandan relations. He said that President Jiang Zemin had met with Kagame on the previous day and the two sides held fruitful talks on bilateral relations and other issues. The agreement on economic and technological cooperation and the formalities for canceling Rwanda's debt signed between the two sides shows Kagame's visit has been successful and will play an active role in promoting Sino-Rwandan relations. He also asked Kagame to convey his greetings to the Rwanda prime minister.

Zhu said that peace and development are the keystones of the times. Without peace and stability, economy could be developed. China hopes Africa could achieve peace and stability, national unity and territorial integrity.

Zhu said that he is pleased to see the achievements Rwanda has made in national stability, ethnic unity, and economic recovery under the rule of Kagame. China has provided assistance to Rwanda within its capacity and reduced and canceled some of Rwanda's debts. We believe that Rwanda will continue to make progress in promoting economic development and improving the living standards of its people.

He expressed his appreciation for Rwanda's attention to developing friendly relations and cooperation with China, its support on the One-China principle and support for China's unification cause.

Zhu said that China is a developing country and its western regions are still poor. Shanghai and Shenzhen, which Kagame will visit, are the most developed places in China. He hoped that the Rwandan guests could visit the west of China in the future.

Kagame expressed his gladness to visit China at the 30th anniversary of Sino-Rwandan relations. He thanked China for its aid and assistance to Rwanda in its difficulties and for canceling Rwanda's debts on the previous day. Rwanda's economic recovery has been going on gradually despite of some difficulties.

He congratulated China on its entry into the World Trade Organization, believing that China will play an important role in the global trading body. He promised Rwanda will continue to reinforce its relations with China and make its due contribution to regional peace.