Bahraini Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Sulman al-Khalifa and Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Mubarak bin Hamad al-Khalifa met separately with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Thursday.

During the meeting, Sheikh Khalifa said that bilateral ties between Bahrain and China had been developing rapidly during the past few years and that cooperation in various fields had been strengthened.

Praising China as an influential big country, Sheikh Khalifa said that Bahrain attached great importance to further developing cooperation with China, adding that Bahrain hoped to boost high- level contacts with China, broaden the scope of cooperation and enrich bilateral ties.

The Bahraini prime minister also said that Bahrain would continue adhering to the one-China policy and support China's reunification.

For his part, Li lauded the Sino-Bahraini ties and cooperation in trade and economy, appreciating Bahrain's firm support on the Taiwan issue.

China values its ties with Bahrain and is willing to exert efforts along with Bahrain to continue high-level contacts, carry out political consultations, boost reciprocal cooperation in economy, trade, technology, civilian aviation and other fields, drive forward cultural and educational exchanges, strengthen mutual support in international affairs and further improve bilateral ties, Li added.

The two sides also discussed regional and international issues of common concerns, agreeing to improve China's relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab countries.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad and Li inked a Memorandum of Understanding over cooperation between the two foreign ministries after their talks.

Li arrived in the Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday morning on a brief visit after wrapping up a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Bahrain is the last leg of Li's four-nation tour in the Middle East, which has taken him to Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

The GCC is a key regional alliance in the Gulf area, grouping Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

Source: Xinhua