Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jasim Mohmmad Al-Kharafi on Wednesday praised China's stance and role in international and regional affairs.

"The Kuwaiti people have all along had very friendly sentiments towards the Chinese people, and both the Kuwaiti government and parliament place great importance on developing ties with China, and view China as a trustworthy friend," Al-Kharafi said at a meeting here with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, a three-day gathering that opened Wednesday afternoon.

Al-Kharafi expressed the hope that China would play an even greater role at the United Nations and other international and regional organizations at a time when the international situation is complex and entangled.

Wu, for his part, said Sino-Kuwaiti ties enjoy an excellent political basis. He noted that Kuwait is the first Gulf nation to establish diplomatic relations with China and that Kuwait is so far the Arab country which has provided the largest preferential government loans to China.

Wu thanked Kuwait for its precious support on such questions as Taiwan and human rights and pledged to respect Kuwait's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

"China has all along respected the diversity of world civilizations, championed the democratization of international relations and been committed to the lofty undertaking of maintaining world peace and advancing common development," Wu said.

The two parliament leaders agreed to keep the good momentum of high-level bilateral exchanges and strengthen their coordination and cooperation in international and regional groups, so as to continuously infuse fresh vitality into the development of state-to-state relations.

Source: Xinhua