Cyprus and China on Tuesday hailed their close ties and vowed to promote further bilateral relations.

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos told visiting Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing that his country adheres firmly to the one-China policy and supports the Chinese government's efforts in reunification of the country.

Both the Cypriot government and people admire China for its rapid economic development and wish for China to achieve greater success, said Papadopoulos.

Dimitris Christofias, president of the Cypriot House of Representatives, also told Li that all Cypriot political parties agreed unanimously on the development of friendly and cooperative relations with China.

For his part, Li expressed his appreciation of Cyprus' adherence to the one-China policy and said China is ready to promote further communication and cooperation with Cyprus in various fields such as trade, science and technology, and culture and tourism.

Li arrived in Nicosia Monday for a two-day visit to the Mediterranean island. He is on the sixth leg of his European tour that brought him to Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Serbia-Montenegro and Macedonia.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2005)