On April 11, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with visiting Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jabir Al-thani in Sanya, a scenic city on south China's island province of Hainan.

Hu said since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1988, the two countries had respected and supported each other with friendly relations developing steadily and cooperation area expanding continuously. Both sides have made important progress in cooperation in trade, energy and other areas and maintained sound exchanges on major international and regional issues.

China attaches great importance to developing friendly cooperative ties with Qatar, Hu said, vowing to work closely with the country to cement high-level exchanges, build political trust and strengthen strategic cooperation. He called on both sides to give full play to the advantages of economic complementarity, further tap into the potential for cooperation, expand mutual investment and enhance pragmatic cooperation in energy, trade, investment and contract projects. Hu expected both sides to strengthen coordination in international and regional issues, jointly promote peace and stability of the Middle East and Gulf region, promote progress in China's relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), boost political dialogue and economic cooperation, and facilitate negotiations on a bilateral free trade area.

Hamad, for his part, termed his visit "fruitful". The two sides had reached a series of agreements to expand cooperation on energy, investment and civil aviation and drawn up a blueprint for the development of bilateral ties, which had become a new starting point for bilateral friendly cooperative relations, he said.

Concerning the Beijing Olympic Games, Hamad told Hu his country firmly supported China's holding of the event, adding he believes the Games will achieve full success. In response, Hu said that China will do its best to fulfill its commitment to people around the world and make good preparations to hold a successful Olympic Games.

Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee (CPCCC) & Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee Ling Jihua, Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee (CPCCC) & Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee Wang Huning, State Councilor Dai Bingguo and other officials attended the meeting.