President Hu starts state visit to Mali

By Li Xing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-12 22:59

President Hu Jintao pledged China will work with Mali to deepen collaboration and jointly meet challenges to push for development in both countries.

He made the pledge in a written statement after arriving in Bamako, capital of Mali, Thursday.

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Hu came at the invitation of Malian President Amadou Toumany Toure.

He will make a two-day state visit to the country from Thursday. The visit is widely believed to significantly push forward China-Mali ties, expand pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and open a new chapter in bilateral friendship.

During his visit, he will exchange views with Malian President Amadou Toumany Toure over bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concerns.

He will also see the ground opening for building the Bamako No. 3 bridge and unveil the new medical center for treatment of malaria.

Both projects were built with Chinese assistance.

Mali is the 15th African country he sets his foot since his presidency in 2003.

Mali was one of the first African countries to establish official relations with China.

For 49 years, China-Mali friendship has remained strong and their cooperation in all fields fruitful, he noted in the statement.

According to the Chinese embassy in Mali, bilateral trade has been on an upward curve, touching a record high of $230 million in 2008. While cotton and other agricultural byproducts are shipped from Mali to China, machinery, tea and textiles go in the opposite direction.

As the booming bilateral trade benefits both, a number of Chinese enterprises, such as China Overseas Engineering Group Co Ltd, China GEO-Engineering Corporation and China Light Industrial Corporation for Foreign Economic and Technical Cooperation, have entered Mali for contracted projects and joint ventures.

The Malian government and its people have also provided support within their means to the Chinese government and the Chinese people. Right after the destructive earthquake that hit southwestern China's Sichuan province in May 2008, President Toure, on behalf of Mali and its people, extended deep condolences to China and made donations to the quake-affected region to help the reconstruction efforts.

Prior to President Hu's visit, President Toure said it bears historical significance and will fully exhibit the unbreakable intimate friendship between the two countries, while Dioncounda Traore, president of Mali's National Assembly, said the visit will hugely promote the Mali-China friendship.