On the afternoon of January 25 2005, President Hu Jintao met with Mauritian Prime Minster Paul Raymond Berenger at the Great Hall of the People.

Hu said that the Chinese people and the Mauritian people enjoy traditional friendship, which has been developing constantly since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. In recent years, the two countries have maintained frequent high-level contacts. The mutual trust in politics has been depended and the cooperation in economy and trade has been diversified and has made new progress. Both sides consult with and support each other in international and regional affairs. Hu appreciated Mauritius for pursuing the friendship with China, for upholding one-China policy and for dedicating to developing China-Mauritius and China-Africa comprehensive cooperative partnership. China values the relationship with Mauritius and is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of five principles of peaceful co-existence so as to promote common development and compose a new chapter of China-Mauritius friendship in the new century, said Hu.

Berenger congratulated China on the achievements in economic and social development and thanked China for providing assistance to Mauritius for these years. He said that Mauritius cherishes Mauritius-China relations, attaches great importance to developing relations with China and will continue to pursue one-China policy. There exist great potentials of cooperation between China and Mauritius in tourism, aviation, textile and other fields. The Mauritian side will make further efforts to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation and drive the friendly cooperation between the two countries forward.