Burundian president meets Chinese president's special envoy

BUJUMBURA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on Sunday met with Cai Wu, the special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao and also the Chinese Minister of Culture, at the Presidential Palace in Bujumbura.

President Nkurunziza thanked President Hu for sending a special envoy to attend Burundi's 50th anniversary of independence celebrations.

Nkurunziza said the Burundi-China relations have a long history and the two countries have effective cooperation in various fields. He expressed his country's thanks to China for its long-time help and support to Burundi's economic and social development.

President Nkurunziza also said that Burundi would like to be China's forever good friend and good brother.

Cai Wu conveyed to Nkurunziza congratulations from President Hu and also from the Chinese government and people on the 50th anniversary of Burundi's independence.

Cai said that in recent years, the Sino-Burundian relations have maintained a good momentum of rapid development. The two countries have kept frequent high-level visits. Their trade and economic cooperation have achieved remarkable results and cultural and people-to-people exchanges have become closer.

Cai expressed the hope that China would like to work with Burundi to further promote the friendly cooperation between the two countries.