China is willing to strengthen co-operation with East Timor in several fields, including defence, economic matters and culture, said Kong Xuanyou, China’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs.

His remarks were made in a meeting with Roberto Soares, East Timor’s Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, during Mr Kong’s two-day visit to East Timor last week. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry gave the information in a statement.

“China is willing to work with East Timor to actively integrate development strategies, [and] strengthen practical co-operation in various fields such as defence, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges,” said Mr Kong.

He additionally noted the relationship between China and East Timor was “a model” for ties between big and small countries.

Mr Soares was quoted saying his nation would work with China to improve further the political trust between the two, and to improve mechanisms for co-operation.