Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday that relevant Chinese governmental departments are competing with time to send food aid to draught-affected Ethiopia as soon as possible.

Noting that Ethiopia was recent hit by severe draughts recently, Hu said the Chinese government and people showed deep sympathy over the disaster-affected people in the country. He said several days ago, China had already announced to offer 50 million yuan RMB (7.8 million US dollars) in emergency aid to Ethiopia.

Hu made the remarks when he met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi here Friday afternoon.

Meles thanked China for the general support it gave to Ethiopia during the strike of draught.

Meles is here to attend the opening ceremony of the 26th Summer Universiade to be held in Shenzhen on Friday evening.

During the meeting, Hu emphasized that China places great importance on its relations with Ethiopia and regards Ethiopia as an important cooperative partner in African and international affairs.

Hu said China is ready to work with Ethiopia to expand political communication and dialogue, continue to support each other on issues concerning major interests of their own and deepen pragmatic cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, infrastructure development, education and culture. He expressed the willingness to further advance bilateral friendly cooperative relations to new stages.

Hu pointed out that since China and Ethiopia established diplomatic links 40 years ago, bilateral relations have grown stronger day by day. He said since the two countries formed a comprehensive cooperative partnership in 2003, the two sides have maintained close contact between their leaders, continuingly improved political mutual trust, achieved rich results in pragmatic cooperation and carried out close cooperation on international affairs.

Hu welcomed Meles to visit China again and to attend the opening ceremony of the Universiade. He also thanked Meles for sending a letter of congratulation to China on the occassion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China last month.

Meles is an old friend of the Chinese people. He visited China in 1995, 2004 and 2006. In November, 2006, Meles and Chinese President Hu co-chaired the Beijing Summit of China-Africa Forum, which was attended by heads of state, government leaders and representatives from 48 African countries.

Meles said he was very glad to be in China again and attend the opening ceremony of Universiade.

He said since the two countries forged official ties, especially in recent years, bilateral relations have seen smooth growth as communication between the governments, political parties and people of the two countries continued to increase.

Meles thanked China for its indispensible role in promoting economic growth of Ethiopia. He expressed the wish that the two sides further strengthen cooperation in the areas of politics, trade, economy, investment and infrastructure development so as to lift bilateral links to new heights.

Hu said in recent years, China-Africa relations have made new progress due to the effectiveness of the China-Africa Forum. He said the two sides are working on developing a new strategic partnership that features mutual trust in politics, win-win cooperation in economy and exchange and mutual learning in culture.

Hu said China is ready to have even closer communication and cooperation with Ethiopia and all other African countries to advance China-Africa strategic partnership in an extensive way.

Meles spoke highly of the relations between Africa and China, saying Ethiopia is ready to further advance the relations within the framework of the China-Africa Forum.

Bilateral relations between China and Ethiopia have withstood changes in the international situation and their own internal conditions since they established diplomatic links 41 years ago. The two countries have developed a comprehensive partnership of cooperation. Bilateral trade and investment have been increasing over the past decade as China set up trade and economic zones in Ethiopia and a few other African countries.

The two countries have carried out close cooperation on regional and international issues. Ethiopia hosted the second China-Africa Forum in 2003. China helped build the conference center of the African Union in Addis Ababa.