China will, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the
30th anniversary of diplomatic ties, work with Spain to further
bilateral friendship and cooperation in various fields, said
Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Jiang made the remarks in Beijing Friday during a meeting with
visiting Spanish Queen Sofia who arrived here Thursday afternoon
for a five-day visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese
People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
Jiang said China has always attached great importance to the
development of Sino-Spanish friendship and cooperation, and
bilateral ties have evolved smoothly in the past 30 years.
Jiang recalled his visit to Spain in 1996 and praised the Spanish
royal family for the contributions to the development of bilateral
ties.
Queen Sofia conveyed Spanish King Juan Carlos I's greetings to
Jiang who asked the queen to pass on his regards to Carlos in
return.
She spoke highly of China's great achievements and voiced her hope
that new progress will be made in the development of bilateral
ties.
Apart from Beijing, Queen Sofia is scheduled to visit Shanghai,
China's commercial center.
Queen Sofia, accompanying Spanish King Juan Carlos I, visited China
in 1978 and 1995.
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2003)