Top Chinese adviser meets Estonian President on ties

Visiting top Chinese adviser Jia Qinglin met with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in Tallinn on Monday and both sides believe Sino-Estonian friendship serves the common interests of the two countries.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said China attached great importance to the development of friendly cooperation with Estonia and was willing to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation with the Baltic country in the areas of economic and trade, science and technology, communications and transportation.

China also hope to make joint efforts with Estonia to promote full development of China-European Union relations, Jia told Ilves at the presidential office in Tallinn.

During the meeting, Ilves said the friendly cooperation between Estonia and China has developed quickly with fruitful results since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1991.

Estonia was satisfied with the development of bilateral ties and was eager to strengthen political exchange with China, to deepen economic and trade cooperation, and to upgrade bilateral ties to a new level, the president said.

"I will, during my term of Estonian president, do my best to make contributions" to further development of Estonia-China friendly relations and EU-China relations, he added.

Estonia is the third leg of Jia's four-nation Europe tour from Oct. 22 to Nov. 3, which has taken him to Britain and Lithuania, and will also take him to Ukraine.

Source: Xinhua