China is ready to raise relations with Oman to a new level, Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong said in Beijing Friday.  

Zeng made the remark during a meeting with Oman Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah in Beijing.

Zeng welcomed Alawi, who is on his fourth visit to China, saying the visit would help push forward the development of bilateral relations.

Though the two countries are far apart, they share long-standing friendship and used to be closely linked together by the maritime silk road.

Zeng said the two countries had seen continuous development of bilateral links since they established diplomatic relations. He said the two sides had conducted fruitful cooperation in such fields as politics, trade and economy.

They had maintained regular exchanges of visits of high-ranking officials and deepened mutual understanding and trust, Zeng said.

He said the trade and economic links between the two countries developed rapidly, with trade volume growing and cooperative areas expanding. The two sides had always supported and cooperated with each other in the international arena, Zeng said.

Zeng said China places importance on developing the friendly relations with Oman.

Alawi conveyed the greetings from Sultan Qabus Bin Said of Oman to Chinese President Hu Jintao. He said during his visit, he saw great achievements China made in its development and held good talks with his Chinese colleagues.

He said the visit was fruitful. He expressed the wish that Oman would continue to expand cooperation with China in all areas, including energy.

The two sides exchanged views on other international issues.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2003)