Li, who concluded his five-day visit to Namibia, was welcomed at the Lusaka International Airport by Amusaa Mwanamwambwa, speaker of the Zambian National Assembly, and other senior Zambian officials.

Li said in a written statement that the peoples of China and Zambia enjoy a long-standing friendship although the two countries are far from each other geographically.

"As early as in the days when Zambia was fighting for national independence, the Chinese people stood firmly with the Zambian people. China, on its part, has also had valuable support from the fraternal Zambian people in its course of safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity and building up the nation," he said.

Li said that over the last 38 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties, the bilateral relations have developed smoothly with frequent exchanges of high level visits and fruitful results in cooperation on all fronts.

All this has added new dimensions to the traditional friendship between the two peoples, he said.

Li hoped his visit will fulfill the purpose of enhancing mutual understanding, broadening consensus, strengthening friendship and expanding cooperation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2003)