Hu, also vice-president of China, said during a meeting with visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia that China and Bangladesh had developed mutual trust in political areas and mutually beneficial cooperation in economic areas.

China-Bangladesh ties were characterized by mutual respect, understanding, support and close cooperation, Hu said.

The CPC and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party were both ruling parties and they were faced with the common task of economic development, improving people's living standards and keeping social stability, Hu said.

To strengthen cooperation between the two parties and share experiences would help each other, Hu stressed, adding that the CPC would work with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to further develop party-to-party ties.

Zia congratulated Hu on his new post as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. She said the Bangladeshi government and people valued ties with China and believed such relations would reach a higher level in the new century.

She said the Bangladesh Nationalist Party hoped to boost cooperation with the CPC.

The prime minister briefed Hu about the internal and external policies of the Bangladeshi government. She said the government was committed to peace and development in South Asia, and would continue to work to strengthen regional cooperation and good-neighborly ties.

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2002)