In commemoration of the 57th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said Thursday that ties between the two countries were "growing steadily and stronger "and she was looking forward to new areas of cooperation within the framework of South-South cooperation.

Reconfirming her government's stance on the "one-China" policy at the China National Day's reception held by the Chinese embassy, Johnson-Sirleaf said, "China, as an emerging world power, cannot be ignored. China's transformation from a dormant economy to an economic power is a useful lesson for many third world countries."

Johnson-Sirleaf also said she hopes that the China-Africa Cooperation Forum through which China is partnering with more than 40 African countries would further deepen ties between the two groups.

Referring to what she calls a "win-win situation," the Liberian leader called on China to "support Africa's demand for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council," adding that "China's role for a just and fairest world order cannot be overemphasized."

On the Taiwan issue, Johnson-Sirleaf indicated that she supports reunification and hopes that the example of Hong Kong's reunification with China in which the "one country, two systems" solution was applied could be extended to Taiwan.

On the bilateral level, Johnson-Sirleaf said Liberia and China have a shared commitment to the UN Charter and maintained that Liberia's ties with China were unequivocal.

In view of this, the president said she has accepted to pay a state visit to China and attend this year's Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum.

Relations between the two countries can date back to 1971 when Liberia supported China's admittance into the United Nations. But ties were broken twice in favor of Taiwan in 1988 and 1997 due to what Johnson-Sirleaf referred to as "narrow and short-term considerations by previous Liberian governments."

Diplomatic relations were reestablished in 2003 following China 's support at the UN in authorizing the deployment of a United Nations Mission of up to 15,000 multinational peacekeeping troops including up to 600 of its own troops to Liberia to end 14 years of civil war there.

The UN Mission has since assisted in conducting democratic elections in 2005 and is now assisting the government to consolidate the peace and reconstruction process of the country.

Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Lin Songtian said ties between the two countries have entered what he referred to as "a new stage of mutually beneficiary partnership of all round cooperation."

Lin said notable improvement has been made in Liberia and that China was committed to "actively participate in the country's development process."

"The challenge for Liberia is to maintain a favorable internal and external environment to meet the needs of its people," Lin said.

As part of activities marking China's National Day, a symposium was held over the weekend on China-Liberia relations at which Liberia's Deputy Foreign Minister Marcus Dahn called on all sectors of the country to "nurture ties with China."

"China has been forthcoming in the post-war reconstruction process of Liberia and that the Liberian government was looking forward to China's offer to rehabilitate the hydro dam and the country's second largest sea port of Buchanan," Dahn said.

He urged Liberians not be to deterred by what he called " distorted media reports on Liberia-China relations." Addressing the symposium, Chinese Ambassador Lin dismissed recent media reports that China's assistance to Liberia including the training of security personnel would cause ideological confrontation with America's interest.

Lin pointed out that China's assistance to Liberia is being done under the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum through which China has committed to assist develop the human resource capacity of 10,000 personnel of diverse technical and professional backgrounds for more than 40 African countries.

About 22 Liberian VIP protection personnel and eight medics and logisticians of the military are undergoing training in China. This is in addition to the more than 200 personnel from both the public and private sectors who had undergone various human resource development programs in China, as well as more than 50 scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students.

Source: Xinhua