Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), arrived in Syria on Tuesday for an official goodwill visit at the invitation of the Syrian Baath Arab Socialist Party.

Li had a stopover in Aleppo, a northern city of Syria before he went to Damascus. Li met with secretary of the ruling Baath party branch in Aleppo Abdul Kadir al-Masri, and governor Tamir al-Hijai.

Li said China and Syria had enjoyed the long-term friendship, and the two countries had maintained mutual trust and support.

"I will exchange views with the Syrian leaders on bilateral ties and issues of common concern, and push forward Sino-Syrian friendship in the new period," he said.

Li said Aleppo was an important crossroad in the ancient silk road, and had played an important role in promoting exchanges between the Chinese and the peoples of Asia and Europe.

He expressed hopes that Aleppo would inherit the friendly tradition between China and Syria and open a new chapter for the reciprocal cooperation.

The Aleppo leaders said Li was visiting Syria at an important time on the development of bilateral relations, and they believed the visit would deepen the friendship and reciprocal cooperation between the two countries.

Syria is the last leg of Li's five-nation tour. He already visited Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2008)