Chinese President Xi Jinping has said his country is willing to collaborate more closely with Cape Verde and to increase their cooperative efforts in fields including infrastructure and the maritime economy, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese state-run news agency quotes Mr Xi as saying so to Cabo Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva in a bilateral meeting in Beijing after the Sino-African summit meeting there this week.

Mr Xi said China was willing to work with Cape Verde to make their relationship a model of the application of the principle that all countries are equal regardless of size, a model of solidarity and a model of the cooperative spirit.

The President said China hoped to increase Sino-Cabo Verde collaboration on countering climate change and on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, for the protection of the interests of both countries.

Xinhua quoted the Cabo Verde prime minister as saying he is inspired by his recent visit to the Binhai New Area in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin, and that Cabo Verde hopes to learn useful lessons from Chinese experience in the area.