China and Greece expressed the hope on Thursday that the Cyprus problem will be solved in a fair, sustained and pragmatic way at an early date on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions.

In a joint statement, the two countries also expressed their support for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.

Any measure taken by the UN Security Council and the international community should be beneficial to the settlement of the problem, the statement says.

The Joint statement on the establishment of the all-round strategic partnership between China and Greece was issued during Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' three-day official visit to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.

After his arrival in Beijing on Thursday morning, Karamanlis has held talks with Wen Jiabao. Chinese President Hu Jintao, top lawmaker Wu Bangguo and top political advisor Jia Qinglin are expected to meet with him.

Source: Xinhua