Republic of Congo an all-weather friend, president tells counterpart

President Xi Jinping hailed the Republic of Congo as an all-weather friend on Wednesday as he called for greater efforts by the two sides to deepen mutual political trust and strengthen bilateral communication on issues of policy, vision and strategy.

Xi's remark came as he met in Beijing with Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who is on a state visit to China.

Sassou Nguesso also attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which ended on Tuesday.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of cooperative agreements covering the joint building of the Belt and Road, and bilateral cooperation in areas of economics, technology and taxation.

Noting that bilateral ties are at a historic high, Xi said China stands ready to expand exchanges at various levels, including high-level visits, and intensify exchanges on governance experience.

The two sides should also continue to enrich their bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, he said.

China and the Republic of Congo should also step up coordination on major global issues and make the global governance system and international order more equitable and reasonable, Xi said.

China will unswervingly move forward with bilateral win-win cooperation and welcomes the Republic of Congo to actively participate in the building of the Belt and Road to enable more fruitful outcomes from bilateral exchanges and cooperation in different areas, Xi added.

Sassou Nguesso said the presence of so many African leaders at the summit is indicative of the great importance attached by African countries to China-Africa ties.

He expressed his appreciation of the eight major initiatives proposed by Xi at the summit.

He said that the Republic of Congo is ready to align its development strategies with the Belt and Road Initiative to accelerate development of both sides.

The bilateral friendship is unbreakable, and the country will stay committed to furthering the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two sides and between China and Africa, he said.

Sassou Nguesso, one of the longest-serving political leaders in Africa, has witnessed the friendship between China and the Republic of Congo over the past half century.

He has paid more than a dozen visits to China since the two sides forged diplomatic ties in 1964, according to Xinhua News Agency.

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