Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing Monday that China attaches importance to strengthening and deepening the all-round cooperative partnership with Argentina.

Hu made the remark in his talks with visiting Argentine President Nestor Kirchner in the Great Hall of the People on Monday afternoon.

The two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional and international affairs in a frank and extensive way and reached broad consensus.

Hu said since the two countries established diplomatic relations 32 years ago, bilateral relations have been growing steadily.

He said the two sides have kept frequent exchanges of high-ranking visits, deepened political mutual trust, continuously expanded trade and economic cooperation and strengthened exchanges and cooperation in such areas as culture, education, science, technology and tourism. Hu said the two countries have maintained close cooperation in international organizations such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization (WTO).

Hu thanked Argentina for its firm support to China on the issues of Taiwan and human rights. He said Argentina is a prominent country in Latin America and an important partner of cooperation in the region.

Hu said China is ready to push for sustained, stable and extensive development of bilateral relations in four aspects. Firstly, he said the two sides should maintain exchange of visits and contact between high-ranking officials so as to push forward dialogues and exchanges among all departments and at all levels and add new vigor and vitality to the development of bilateral relations.

Secondly, Hu said the two sides should strengthen and expand trade and economic cooperation so as to realize win-win results for both sides. Hu said the two sides could focus on agriculture and animal farming as a key area of cooperation, and they should also explore new ways and channels to strengthen cooperation in other areas.

Thirdly, Hu said the two sides should expand personnel communications and exchanges so as to broaden the basis of people-to-people friendship between the two countries.

Fourthly, Hu said the two sides should strengthen coordination and cooperation in such multilateral mechanisms as the UN, WTO and Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.

Kirchner agreed with the suggestions that President Hu put forward on strengthening bilateral relations, saying though the two countries are far apart, the Argentine people have always cherished friendly feelings toward China.

He emphasized that the Argentine government will continue to stick to the one-China policy. He also expressed the wish to further reinforce and deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in such areas as politics, trade, economy and culture.

Kirchner said the two economies are highly complimentary to each other and enjoy great potential for development. He praised the fast growth of China's market economy and China's achievement in realizing balance of economic and social development. He said Argentina is ready to learn more about China's policy and methods and learn from the experience.

Hu and Kirchner briefed each other on the domestic situations of their own countries and exchanged views on other issues of common concern.

In reference to the relations between China and the South American Common Market (SACM), Hu said China places importance on expanding cooperation with SACM and is ready to join efforts with SACM to perfect a cooperative mechanism, enrich cooperative contents and promote further development of Sino-SACM cooperation and friendly relations.

Kirchner said SACM nations place high importance on developing cooperative relations with China. He expressed the wish that the two sides will strengthen this new framework of cooperation to bring substantial benefits to the people of all countries concerned. He said Argentina is willing to enhance negotiations and coordination with China on international affairs.

After the talks, Hu and Kirchner attended the signing ceremony of five documents between the governments of the two countries. The documents are about bilateral cooperation in such areas as civil aviation, public health, culture, investment and agriculture.

Earlier on Monday, relevant officials of China and Argentina held negotiations in which they expressed the willingness to cooperate in the area of railway construction.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2004)