On the afternoon of July 15, 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Amadou Toumani Touré, President of the Republic of Mali, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People. The two sides agreed to build on and carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Mali and enhance exchanges and cooperation in all fields in a bid to create a new situation for the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries in the new century.

Hu Jintao reviewed the development process of China-Mali relations and made high comments on the traditional friendship between the two countries. He said that Mali was among the first countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to establish diplomatic relations with China and is therefore an old friend of China. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties over four decades ago, despite the great changes in both international situations and domestic situations of the two countries, relations between China and Mali have always been developing steadily. Exchanges between leaders of the two countries have been frequent, exchanges and cooperation in various areas, among other things, economy and trade, are productive, and the two sides have always supported and coordinated with each other closely in international and regional affairs. Hu Jintao expressed appreciation and thanks to Mali for its precious support for China on important issues, such as the Taiwan question and the human rights issue.

Touré said that people of the two countries have enjoyed deep and sincere friendship. Both countries value sovereignty and national dignity very much and the two sides share identical views and positions on major international issues. To adhere to the one-China policy is a firm and clear political stance of Mali, which will be a friend and partner of the Chinese people forever.

Hu Jintao said that the traditional friendship between China and Mali was jointly founded and fostered by several generations of leadership of the two countries and is therefore a precious asset of the two countries and peoples. To build on and carry forward the traditional friendship by consolidating and further developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries is the common aspiration and responsibility of both sides. To that end, China would like to make the following proposals:

First, the two sides should continue to adhere to the purposes and principles of being sincere and friendly with each other, treating each other as equals, giving mutual support and pursuing common development.

Second, the two sides should maintain the momentum of exchanges at the top level and strengthen friendly exchanges between the parliaments, government agencies, political parties and non-governmental organizations of the two countries.

Third, the two sides should enhance economic and trade cooperation and try to explore new areas, channels and methods for expansion of cooperation. The Chinese government encourages and supports strong Chinese enterprises to engage in mutually beneficial cooperation in a variety of forms with their Mali counterparts, and will continue to provide assistance to Mali within its available resources.

Fourth, the two sides should expand exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, health and tourism so as to enrich the bilateral cooperation.

Fifth, the two sides should make better use of the consultation mechanism between their foreign ministries to have closer coordination and cooperation in international as well as regional affairs.

Touré indicated that China's objectives and proposals on further developing Mali-China relations are moving, to which he fully agreed. Cooperation between the two countries in a variety of fields has yielded fruitful results, which shows the brotherly feelings borne by the Chinese people towards the Mali people. Mali is home to abundant water resources and is the largest cotton producer in Africa. There are huge potentials for cooperation between the two sides in agriculture, textile and infrastructure construction. Mali stands ready to expand continuously the friendly cooperation with China.

When talking about the situation in Africa and China's policies towards Africa, Hu Jintao said that China has placed a priority on Africa consistently. To cement and strengthen the unity and cooperation with African countries including Mali is an important facet of China's independent foreign policy of peace. China will make full use of the multilateral dialogue and cooperation mechanism of China-Africa Cooperation Forum to expand areas of China-Africa cooperation so as to upgrade the overall level of cooperation between China and Africa. Touré spoke highly of the precious support rendered by China for the lofty cause of independence and development of Africa and expressed appreciation for the active role of China-Africa Cooperation Forum, saying that African countries would like to learn from the development experience of China, enhance Africa-China cooperation and promote common development.

Following the talks, the two heads of state attended the signing ceremony of the agreement on economic and technological cooperation between the two governments and some other cooperation documents.

Prior to the talks, Hu Jintao held a welcoming ceremony for the visit to China by President Touré at the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People. President Hu Jintao's wife Liu Yongqing, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Raidi, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Li Meng, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang Li Ganliu, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and some other officials attended the ceremony.