The friendly relations between China and Colombia are based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, Colombian Congress President Hernan Andrade said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Colombia sticks to the one-China policy and opposes the independence of Taiwan and Tibet, Andrade said, adding that his country believes that China is capable of resolving these issues on its own.

At the invitation of China's top legislator Wu Bangguo, Andrade will visit China on Jan. 8-16 as the head of a Senate delegation.

Andrade told Xinhua that he was looking forward to the visit and was expecting to personally see the achievements of China's reform and opening-up.

China and Colombia enjoy a profound traditional friendship, Andrade said. The friendly ties have been growing continuously and remarkable progress has been made in bilateral exchanges and cooperation, he said.

Andrade praised China for sticking to the path of peaceful development and said China's 30 years of reform and opening-up have not only been instrumental in achieving its fast economic growth and drastically reducing poverty, but have also made China more open and raised the country's international standing.

And the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games further boosted China's image as a modern power, he said.

Meanwhile, Andrade welcomed China's first policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean region, which was released in November last year.

Latin America's integration is an inevitable process in which China, with abundant capital and advanced technology, can play an important role, to the benefit of both sides, he said.

There are broad prospects for cooperation in strengthening exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries, and in infrastructure construction, energy development, port construction and cultural and technological exchanges.

Colombia welcomes investments from Chinese companies, he said.

Through joint efforts, bilateral ties will be promoted to a higher level, the congress president said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2009)