Luo Gan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, arrived in the Moldovian capital of Chisinau on　Tuesday to kick off his goodwill visit to the country.

Luo came here from Yerevan after winding up his three-day visit to Armenia. Moldova is the last leg of his four-nation tour which also includes Iceland and Finland.

In a written statement upon his arrival at the airport in Chisinau, Luo said the traditional Sino-Moldovian friendship started long time ago despite the long distance between the two countries.

The relations have developed smoothly since China and Moldova established diplomatic ties over 10 years ago, Luo said, adding that cooperation has been expanded and the relations have seen unprecedented improvement in recent years.

Noting that there is no obstacle in the development of Sino-Moldovian relations, Luo said the Communist Party, the government and the people of China attach great importance to developing relations with Moldova and will make joint efforts with Moldovian side to push the relationship to a new high in the new century.

"Autumn is a season of harvesting," Luo said, expressing his belief that his visit will be successful.

Luo said he is expected to meet with Moldovian President Vladimir Voronin, Parliament President Eugenia Ostapciuk and Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev on Thursday.

Moldova, with a population of 4.28 million, became independent in August 1991 and established diplomatic relationship with China in January 1992.
 
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2003)