Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in Abuja on Sunday afternoon to start a three-day state visit to Nigeria at the invitation of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
It is the return visit of Obasanjo's visit to China last August as well as the first one of this kind to Nigeria by a Chinese president since China established diplomatic ties with the west African country in 1971.
President Jiang and wife Wang Yeping, accompanied by Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen, were greeted at the airport by Obasanjo and his wife Stella with a salute of 21 gunfire.
Accompanied by his Nigerian counterpart, Jiang reviewed the honor guard of three services at the airport and enjoyed seeing performance of typical traditional Nigerian dance by a group of Nigerians clad in traditional clothing.
In his arrival statement issued at the airport, Jiang said China and Nigeria are far apart geographically, but the hearts of the two peoples are linked closely.
"We are satisfied that in the past 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, our two countries have conducted sincere, friendly and fruitful cooperation in the political, economic and trade, cultural, educational and many other areas," Jiang said.
"I am confident that with the common efforts of our two sides," he added, "Sino-Nigerian friendly relations and cooperation will enjoy an even broader prospect in development."
The long history and colorful cultures of Nigeria have nurtured its industrious and talented people, Jiang said.
"With this visit," he said, "I am looking forward to feeling for myself the ancient cultures and modern achievements of Nigeria, and having in-depth exchange of views with the leaders of your country on our bilateral relations and on international and regional issues of common interest."
During his stay in Nigeria, Jiang will hold talks with Obasanjo on further expanding bilateral cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, technology, culture, tourism and public health as well as on the issue of avoidance of two-way taxation, among others.
Nigeria is the third leg of Jiang's two-week five-nation tour, which will also take him to Tunisia and Iran. Having visited Germany and Libya, Jiang is scheduled to leave Nigeria on Tuesday.
(China Daily April 15, 2002)
