Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on July 28.

Li Qiang said that over the past 22 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and East Timor, the two countries have always understood and supported each other. Mutual political trust has been continuously deepened, and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, the premier said.

Li Qiang said that the country is willing to carry forward the traditional friendship with Timor-Leste, strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity and other sectors in the joint high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in broader areas such as agriculture, fisheries, poverty alleviation, tourism and local affairs, seeking to jointly make contributions to promoting regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

The Timorese president expressed his expectation of deepening cooperation in the fields of agriculture and water conservation.

(Source: Portuguese CRI, on July 28)