The relations between Slovakia and China have been on steady and sound development, with continuously strengthened exchanges and cooperation in politics, economy, military and culture since the independence of the central European country in January 1993, said observers on the eve of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Slovakia.

Wen's two-day official visit starting from Wednesday is of great significance for further expanding the cooperation between the two countries and pushing the development of bilateral ties to a higher level.

Slovakia and China share a deeply-rooted friendship though the two countries are geographically separated by thousands of miles.

The former Czechoslovakia, divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, was among the very first nations to have recognized and established diplomatic relations with China.

The political vicissitude in the international arena over the last five decades never halted the smooth development of the Slovak-Chinese ties.

The two states witnessed frequent political exchanges of high-level visits in the past decade. Slovak president, speaker of parliament, prime minister and foreign minister have made fruitful visits to China.

In January 2003 during his state visit to China, Slovak President Rudolf Schuster and his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin signed a Joint Communique defining the orientation of the development of bilateral ties in the new century.

On May 10, 2004, shortly after Slovakia entered the European Union, then Slovak vice prime minister and economic minister Pavol Rusko led a delegation to pay a visit to China.

From China, leaders of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the State Council, the government and the chief of staff of the army also paid visits to Slovakia in the past five years.

Frequent visits by leaders from the two sides helped strengthen the mutual trust in politics while achieving a solid base for steady development of bilateral relations in the long run.

Slovakia and China take each other as an important partner. Both agree that they have no conflicts in fundamental interests and their peoples will benefit from the development of bilateral ties.

Both are willing to further deepen bilateral relations, abiding by the principles of mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences, equality and mutual respect and promoting common development.

Slovak leaders have repeatedly affirmed their attachment to the longtime friendship with China and their adherence to the policy to expand cooperation with China.

For the part of China, the Chinese appreciate Slovakia's aherance to the One-China policy and share Slovakia's will to expand bilateral cooperation.

In economic and trade cooperation, the two countries have registered substantial progress. The bilateral trade volume totaled 288 million US dollars in 2004, up from 74.28 million dollars in 2001.

In the first half of 2005, the trade volume totaled 187 million dollars, showed statistics from the Chinese Customs.

However, the trade volume remains unsatisfactory though the growth has been remarkable, and both sides are taking active measures to improve the situation.

Exchanges in culture, science and technology and sports, promoted by a series of programs and plans, constitute an important part of and a driving force for the development of the relations between Slovakia and China, he said.

Particularly active cultural exchanges contributed to a better understanding and a deepened friendship between the two peoples, he added.

In recent years, the Chinese had got a real touch of the Slovak culture through such events as the Day of Slovak Culture, the Week of Slovak Cinema and the Salon of Slovak Children's Book. The Slovaks also had a chance to enjoy the Week of Chinese Films, the exposition of World Cultural Heritage in China and artistic shows of Chinese folklore.

Source: Xinhua