Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa on Friday spoke highly of the friendly cooperation between Tanzania and China and between the military circles of the two countries.

Mkapa made the remark while meeting with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan.

The Tanzanian president also expressed his gratitude for the assistance and support China has offered to Tanzania for the past four decades.

He said that Tanzania supports China's newly-passed Anti- Secession Law and will as always support the "one China" principle and is in the hope of an early materialization of China's reunification.

Cao Gangchuan thanked President Mkapa for his contribution toward the friendly cooperation between China and Tanzania and between the two armies.

The Chinese visitor said that the Sino-Tanzanian friendship has a profound basis and thanks to the attention given by the state leaders of the two countries, Sino-Tanzanian cooperation has been developing without a hitch and has registered a great deal of achievements.

Cao added that China attaches great importance to Sino- Tanzanian friendship and cooperation and that China will cooperate with Tanzania to further the bilateral relations.

Also attending President Mkapa's meeting were Hu Yanlin, commissar of the Chinese Navy, Liu Chengjun, deputy commander of the Chinese Air Force, and Tanzanian Defense Minister Philemon Mikol Sarungi.

Tanzania is the second stop on Cao's four-country tour of Africa and Europe.

The visit has taken Cao to Egypt and will take him to the Netherlands and Denmark later this month.