Zhu said that Jugnauth's visit on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-Mauritius diplomatic relations will improve the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

Zhu said he is satisfied with the stable development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

China and Mauritius have always trusted and supported each other in international affairs, and the two sides have made significant achievements in political, cultural, and trade and economic cooperation, the Chinese premier said.

Chinese companies have participated in the economic construction of Mauritius through investing directly or undertaking project contracts, Zhu said.

Mauritius has social and political stability and maintains a steady economic growth, said Zhu,adding that China and Mauritius can share their successful experience as Mauritius is one of the African countries with a fast economic growth.

He said China and Mauritius are both developing countries and the improvement in their bilateral cooperation conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples.

China appreciates the Mauritian government's adherence to the one-China policy and its not having official relations with Taiwan,said Zhu.

China will, as always, work with Mauritius to push forward bilateral friendly cooperation in various fields, he said.

Zhu also briefed Jugnauth on the follow-up work of the China-African Cooperation Forum. China has signed agreements with 31 African countries to reduce or write off their debts and has started to carry out its commitments, according to Zhu.

He said China and Africa have intensified cooperation in human resource development and in other fields including tourism, environmental protection and finance.

He said that China, along with other African countries, will effectively push forward the mechanism initiated by the forum to expand China-African friendly cooperation in the new century.

Jugnauth agreed with Zhu's views on bilateral ties and told Zhu he believed that his visit will further promote the ties.

He said the friendship between the two countries was dated back in the early 19th century when some Chinese settled in Mauritius. Since then they have taken an important position in Mauritius's economic and cultural life, Jugnauth said.

After the two countries forged diplomatic ties, their bilateral relations have developed steadily and the two countries cooperated effectively in areas such as agriculture, education and trade, the prime minister said.

He expressed the hope that the two countries will further their cooperation in aviation, tourism, textiles, finance and other areas in the future.

Jugnauth also thanked China for its assistance to Mauritius in many fields and congratulated China on its World Trade Organization accession.

After the talks, Zhu and Jugnauth signed three China-Mauritius cooperative documents on economic and technological cooperation, legal matters, and education.

Jugnauth arrived in Beijing early Monday for a six-day official visit.

(People's Daily July 2, 2002)