"On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in my own name, I extend cordial greetings and best wishes to your excellency, and through you, to the Jamaican government and people," Zhu said in a message to Patterson.

Jamaica is one of the Caribbean countries which established diplomatic ties with China at an early date, and bilateral cooperation in such fields as politics, economy and trade, science and technology, and culture has been fruitful since the two nations established diplomatic ties, he said.

The two countries have supported and coordinated with each other in international affairs, and Jamaica has become China's largest trading partner in the English-speaking Caribbean region, said the Chinese premier.

He added that the Chinese government attaches importance to developing friendly cooperative relations with Jamaica, and is willing to make concerted efforts with the Jamaican side to push the Sino-Jamaican ties to a new level.

In his message, Patterson said China, as a major power in international affairs as well as a developing country, has taken a keen interest in the progress of other developing countries and has sought to forge close links with them.

Over the past 30 years, Jamaica has been steadfast in its adherence to the one-China policy, and the two sides have bridged the cultural and geographic divide and have achieved a level of understanding, friendship and cooperation of which "both our countries can be proud of," he said.

Jamaica and China have built a solid partnership, based on trust and mutual respect, in both the bilateral and the multilateral spheres, said the Jamaican prime minister.

He believed that relations between the two countries will grow from strength to strength.

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Jamaican counterpart, Keith Knight, also exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion.

(People's Daily November 21, 2002)