A delegation led by Taneti Mamau, President of Kiribati, a central Pacific island nation, visited Zhejiang province on Jan 8. Che Jun, Party chief of Zhejiang province, met the delegation.

Che extended a welcome to the delegation and said that the bilateral cooperation agreements that China and Kiribati recently signed injected great impetus to the cooperation between Kiribati and Zhejiang, and that their friendship has been enhanced since China and Kiribati resumed ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations last September.

Che expressed hope that both sides will strengthen cooperation in trade, culture, tourism, agriculture, fishing, education and sports in the future.

Mamau thanked Che for his reception and expressed admiration for the achievements Zhejiang has made over the past years. He said that Kiribati has been implementing a 20-year development plan and needs to cooperate more with the rest of the world, and Zhejiang, as one of the most developed provinces in China, has many good practices that they can learn from.

Mamau added that he believes Kiribati and Zhejiang enjoy broad prospects of cooperation as Kiribati boasts abundant natural resources while Zhejiang has an advantage in capital, technology and markets. He agreed to strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.

The delegation also visited some industry-leading companies in the province on the day.