Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi on Monday met the State Governor of Hawaii of the United States Linda Lingle at the state capital of Honolulu, both hailing the smooth development of relations between China and the Hawaii state, and vowingd to further expand cooperation in trade, technology, culture, education and tourism.

Wu said in recent years, the relationship between China and Hawaii had enjoyed a fast and healthy development, with bilateral trade growing rapidly. In 2005, the trade revenue between the two sides mounted up to 1.12 billion U.S. dollars, up 67.6 percent from the previous year.

The Chinese vice premier said the Chinese government would further promote the friendly relationship between the country and the state, strengthening communication and cooperation in the future.

Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Hainan have become the "friendship province" with Hawaii separately. The Hawaiian Tourism Bureau has set up offices in China, the cooperation between the two sides in tourism exploration and tourism education is expanding, Wu said.

Lingle believed Wu's visit would greatly stimulate further cooperation between the two sides in all fields. She hoped to further strengthen cooperation with the Chinese side in tourism, trade, culture and other fields.

Wu also attended the signing ceremony between the Chinese Tourism Bureau and the Hawaiian Tourism Bureau on Monday.

On April 11, the Chinese vice premier will co-chair the 17th meeting of the Sino-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Washington with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Trade Representative Rob Portman.

During the event, the Chinese Commerce Commission will organize more than 100 Chinese enterprises to hold seminars and promotions on trade investment with U.S. enterprises in 13 U.S. states, signing contracts on purchasing agricultural products, software, airplanes, automobiles and components, as well as mechanical and electric products.

Sino-U.S. trade hit 212 billion U.S. dollars last year. China has become the fourth largest export market and the third largest trade partner of the United States.

Source: Xinhua