China and Nepal will further deepen traditional friendship and promote common development in the future, visiting Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said Friday in Kathmandu.

Tang, who arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday for a three-day official visit, made the remarks at a joint reception hosted by the China Study Center of Nepal and the Chinese Embassy in Nepal.

"Thanks to the efforts made by several generations of Chinese and Nepalese leaders over half a century, exchanges and cooperation between China and Nepal in political, diplomatic, economic and trade, cultural, educational and other fields have borne rich fruit. Indeed, China and Nepal have become a model for countries of different social systems to live in friendship," Tang said.

"President Hu Jintao and His Majesty Gyanendra met last year. They reached extensive agreement on deepening China-Nepal friendship and cooperation, which will greatly boost the growth of China-Nepal relations," Tang noted.

"What has enabled China-Nepal friendship to maintain its strong momentum of growth over the years is that our two peoples have treated each other as equals, with trust, respect and sincerity," he said.

The Chinese Government and people firmly pursue the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. " We highly respect the mode of development chosen by the Nepalese people, and have never interfered with the internal affairs of Nepal," he added.

Tang will meet with Nepali King Gyanendra on Friday afternoon.

Source: Xinhua