China and Mozambique on Thursday pledged to cement their traditional friendship and deepen bilateral cooperation in a host of areas.
The consensus came as Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, prior to the opening of a summit on China-Africa cooperation.
Both China and Mozambique cherish their traditional friendship, said the Chinese president, calling on the two countries to be good friends, good partners and good brothers.
Xi noted that China and the southeastern African country should view their bilateral relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective, and continue to provide support and understanding to each other on issues related to their core interests and major concerns.
He urged the two countries to deepen cooperation of mutual benefits in the areas of energy, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure construction, investment and financing.
China and Mozambique, Xi said, should also expand their exchanges and cooperation in such fields as education, culture and tourism, and keep close their coordination in order to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
For his part, Nyusi stressed the vast potential in cooperation between his country and China, especially in the areas of infrastructure construction, education, energy and water resources development.
Mozambique stands ready to improve its development capability with China’s help, he added.
Both Xi and Nyusi are in Johannesburg for the second summit of the 15-year-old Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which groups China, 50 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China, and the Commission of the African Union.
Source: Xinhua