On the afternoon of May 16, Premier Zhu Rongji held talks with Prime Minister of Bahrain Sheikh Khalifa Bin Sulman Al-khalifa at the Great Hall of the People.

Zhu extended a warm welcome to Khalifa for his visit. He said that Prime Minister Khalifa's China visit is the first of its kind by a state leader of Bahrain and a major event in the development of China-Bahrain relations. It will give strong impetus to bilateral relations and the friendly cooperation between China and Bahrain .

Zhu noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1989, China and Bahrain have continuously developed their friendly cooperation in political, trade and economic, and cultural fields. The Chinese side highly values the Prime Minister's active contribution to developing relations with China. China always maintains that regardless of size, strength and wealth, all countries in the world should have equal rights in the international arena on the basis of five principles of peaceful coexistence. Both developing countries, China and Bahrain share the same or similar views on many important international and regional issues. China cherishes its friendship with Bahrain and is willing to make concerted efforts with Bahrain on the basis of mutual respect, equality and reciprocity. The two countries should explore cooperation approaches that match their respective national situation, in order to further expand the range and scale of cooperation and promote friendly cooperation to a new step.

With regards to the trade and economic relations between the two countries, Zhu noted that through the concerted efforts by the two sides, the trade and economic cooperation have gone on smoothly. Bahrain is renowned for banking and financial services. China is now steadily developing its economy and there is great potential in bilateral cooperation. Zhu urged governments and business circles of both countries to seize the opportunity to widen cooperation in two-way investment, trade, finance, engineering and construction and labor services. He believed with concerted efforts, the two countries could rapidly improve trade ties and economic cooperation.

Zhu also expressed appreciation for Bahrain's adherence to the One-China policy and not developing official ties with Taiwan.

Khalifa said that he was very pleased to visit China, a great country, and expressed his thanks to the Chinese side for the warm reception. He said that the Bahrain much cherishes China's friendship with Bahrain and other Gulf countries. Bahrain is willing to explore with China ways for further widening and consolidating bilateral ties. Khalifa expressed his admiration for China's tremendous achievement in its social and economic development and wished China greater success in the modernization drive.

The two sides also touched upon the current situation in the Middle East. Zhu said that although the tension in the region had recently eased to some extent, many unstable factors still remain. Israel and Palestine are still bitterly confrontational. China hopes they could resume political dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible, in order to reach a political settlement on the basis of the United Nations resolutions and the principle of "land for peace". Together with Arab countries including Bahrain and the international community, China is willing to play an active role in further defusing tensions.

Khalifa said that Bahrain highly appreciats China's just stand on a series of major international and regional issues. Especially on the Middle East issue, China always supports the just cause of the Palestinians and other Arab countries. He believed China could play a bigger role in Middle East affairs as permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Zhu expressed his thanks to Khalifa for his invitation to visit Bahrain.

After the talks, the two sides signed five cooperation pacts. Premier Zhu and Prime Minister Khalifa attended the signing ceremony.