Visiting President Laurent Gbagbo of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire reiterated Wednesday his country's adherence to the one-China policy, saying he believed Taiwan will return to the motherland, just as Hong Kong and Macao did.
Gbagbo arrived in Beijing on Tuesday night for a week-long state visit at Chinese President Jiang Zemin's invitation.
Jiang said he appreciated Cote d'Ivoire's position on China's reunification and support for China on human rights and other major issues.
Jiang also said that bilateral relations have been developing smoothly since the forging of their diplomatic ties and that the two countries have had fruitful cooperation in various fields over the years.
He said joint efforts will be made ensuring that the friendly relations develop further.
Gbagbo praised China as a model for developing countries such as his. He said China has aided his country in agriculture, energy, machinery, mining and medicine.
Cote d'Ivoire, located in Western Africa with a population of 16.4 million, is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans and palm oil. Its economy is largely dependent on agriculture.
Jiang also briefed Gbagbo on the follow-up activities of the China-African Cooperation Forum.
China has signed agreements with more than 30 African countries on debt reduction and exemption. Cooperation in tourism, environmental protection and finance has been established gradually, Jiang said.
China is working closely with African countries to be better prepared for the upcoming Senior Officials' Meeting and Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the forum in Ethiopia.
Gbagbo is scheduled to visit Anhui Province and Shanghai in the following days and meet Premier Zhu Rongji on Monday.
(People's Daily April 25, 2002)
