Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with visiting Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 19, 2005.

President Hu Jintao said in Beijing on January 19 China is ready to further deepen friendly cooperation with Ireland and to turn "bilateral relations into a model of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation."

Hu made the remark during his meeting with Bertie Ahern, Prime Minister of Ireland, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday afternoon.

Hu spoke highly of the latest development of bilateral relations. He said he appreciated that Ireland adopted an "Asia strategy" and earnestly pushed forward the relations between China and Europe. He also thanked Ireland for adhering to the one-China policy and supporting China's reunification.

Hu pointed out that China and Ireland have "no conflict of basic interests" and that they share "the sincere will of strengthening friendly cooperation." He said China welcomes the corporate circles of Ireland to participate in China's economic development in a more extensive manner, adding that China also supports competitive Chinese companies to invest and set up operations in Ireland.

Hu expressed the willingness to expand exchanges and cooperation with Ireland in all fields. He hopes that relevant sectors of the two countries should continue to implement the important consensus that the heads of state of the two countries had reached.

Ahern said the incumbent government of Ireland has been working hard on developing relations with China. Over the past few years, he added, the two countries have achieved remarkable results in their cooperation in such fields as agriculture, trade, investment, education and tourism.

As Ireland assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union in the first half of last year, the country had carried out sound cooperation with China in promoting the development of EU-China relations, he said, noting that Ireland is satisfied with the result.

Ahern said his current visit to China, accompanied by a large group of entrepreneurs, is intended to advance the long-term, stable development of bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, trade and culture.

Ahern is currently in China for a six-day official visit to China from Jan. 17 to 22 at the invitation of Premier Wen Jiabao. During his visit, he met with Premier Wen and attended the signing ceremony of four bilateral cooperation agreements.