Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Tuesday made a one-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and expanding cooperation.

He held talks with President Joseph Kabila who hailed China for providing valuable support and aid to his country at a critical time of peace and reconstruction, which demonstrated the genuine friendship between the two countries and their people.

The DRC is located in central Africa, with an area of 2,345,410 square km. As of July 2005, it has a population of around 60 million.

Years of war dramatically reduced national output and government revenue. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. Since August last year, government forces have been battling rebels in provinces of North and South Kivu.

In talks with President Hu Jintao in March 2005, visiting?Kabila called China a dependable friend of the DRC.

China officially recognized the Congolese government shortly after it declared independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960. In February, 1961, China and the then Republic of Congo established diplomatic relations. Since Nov. 19, 1972 when the two countries issued a joint communique on bilateral relations, China and the DRC have maintained exchanges of high-level visits.

In November 2006, along with other African countries, the DRC signed a declaration on the establishment of a new strategic partnership between China and Africa during Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

The DRC was the second leg of Yang's four-nation tour to Africa, which includes the other three countries of South Africa, Burundi and Ethiopia.

The visiting Yang said that "China and the DRC are good friends and good partners. The two countries have been constantly supporting each other on the basis of mutual understandings in issues related with national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Kabila reiterated his government's adherence to the one-China policy, saying the DRC government attaches great importance to its relations with China.

The DRC and China share common views on many issues of significance, and the potential for bilateral cooperation is huge, Kabila said, expressing his willingness to ensure a smooth bilateral cooperation in fields like trade and investment.

Yang said China appreciates the DRC government's adherence to the one-China policy, and firmly supports the DRC's efforts in consolidating peace, promoting national reconciliation and realizing economic development.

He said that China would further strengthen bilateral cooperation in fields like economics and trade, and implement related cooperation projects, in order to benefit the Congolese people and push the bilateral relations to a new high.

Yang also held talks with his DRC counterpart Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, state minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, during which the two sides hailed the bilateral relations, agreed to promote mutual understanding and friendship, and enhance political dialogue, under the framework of which the two countries can exchanges views on bilateral, regional and international issues.

Nyamwisi also briefed?Yang on the security situation in eastern DRC and on the progress of the on-going conference on peace, security and development in eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. They also signed a preferential loan agreement worth 33.6 million U.S. dollars, to be financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, for the construction of a national fiber optic trunk in the DRC. The project will be undertaken by China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation.

The two ministers consented to further implement the assistance measures announced at Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in November last year, and expand cooperation in fields like trade, infrastructure construction, culture, education, health and human resources.

Trade between the two countries in the January-November period last year grew by 26.8 percent over the same period of the previous year, totaling 490 million U.S. dollars, according to statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce.?

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2008)