Koirala welcomed Zhu's visit to Nepal, saying that the exchange of visits by leaders of both countries elevated bilateral relations and Zhu's on-going visit will certainly open a page on the annals of Nepal-China relations in the new century.

The Chinese premier thanked Koirala for his kind invitation and called Nepal as the closest friendly neighbor. "We have been overwhelmed by the friendly sentiments of the Nepalese people the moment we set foot on Nepalese soil," Zhu said. "The friendly contacts between the peoples of China and Nepal date back to ancient times. The China-Nepal friendship was jointly fostered by leaders of the old generation of both countries."

Zhu said Koirala attached importance to relations with China during his three times serving as the prime minister of Nepal and China highly appreciate it. Zhu thanked the Nepalese government for its valuable support to China on issues concerning China's sovereignty and national interest, including the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and human rights.

Zhu said that in recent years, the leaders of both countries frequently exchanged visits, which helped deepen the mutual understanding of the two countries. He said during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Nepal in 1996, the two countries decided to build good-neighborly partnership that will be handed down from generation to generation. It is China's set policy to develop long-term, stable and comprehensive friendly relations of cooperation with Nepal and pass down China-Nepal friendship from generation to generation. China will always be Nepal's trustworthy neighbor and friend.

The Chinese premier spoke highly of the domestic and foreign policy pursued by the Nepalese government, saying that China, as a friendly neighbor of Nepal, is pleased to see the various achievements of Nepal.

On China-Nepal economic cooperation, Zhu said the cooperation has been developing smoothly under the common efforts of both sides. China has provided some assistance to Nepal within its capability and is willing to make greater efforts to broaden the fields of economic and trade cooperation with Nepal, in a bid to further the good-neighborly relations of friendly cooperation between the two countries.

Koirala said the good-neighborly relationship between Nepal and China, always based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the equality of sovereignty, features friendship, understanding and cooperation.

The Nepalese prime minister said Nepal values its friendly relations of cooperation with China and vowed that his country will firmly stick to one China policy and will not allow any forces to conduct anti-China activities on Nepalese soil.

Koirala said China's economy has been growing on a high speed and he believes China's development will certainly benefit Asian countries as a whole.

Zhu arrived here this afternoon for a two day official visit. This is Zhu's first visit to Nepal.

(People's Daily 05/15/2001)