Wu voiced the Chinese stance during his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Presidential Palace earlier in the day.

    Wu said that Egypt, the first Arab and African country that recognized the People's Republic of China, plays a special role in the external affairs of the Chinese government, with the exchange of visits of presidents of the two countries enhancing the Sino-Egyptian relations to a new level.

    China is willing to work with Egypt together to keep the trend of high-level exchange of visits from the strategic viewpoints, strengthen the exchange and cooperation of the governments, parliaments and political parties of both countries, he said.

Wu Bangguo (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, capital of Egypt, May 21, 2007.

    China also wants to make closer coordination and cooperation on regional and international affairs with Egypt, and enhance the practical cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, tourism and mutual investments, as well as expand the exchanges in cultural, scientific and educational sectors, Wu said.

    For his part, Mubarak agreed with Wu on the evaluation and suggestion on the bilateral ties and expressed his appreciation of the traditional friendship of the two countries.

    "Deep and profound friendship has been made between Chinese leaders of several generations and myself, while the friendly cooperation of the two countries develops smoothly," Mubarak said.

    He expressed Egypt's admiration toward China's rapid development, noting that Egypt is attaching great importance to developing and deepening the strategic and cooperative relations between the two sides.

    With mutual efforts of the two countries, bilateral relations are believed to achieve great development and benefit the people of two countries, Mubarak added.

    He also highlighted the importance of Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and China's efforts to actively implement the eight steps of assistance announced by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Summit.

    Egypt will stick to active coordinating with China to promoting the development of the relations between Africa and China, the president said.

    Meanwhile, Wu said China attaches great importance to Africa all the time, while strengthening unity and cooperation with Africa is cornerstone of China's independent foreign policy of peace.

    He pointed out that the success of the Summit has opened a new era in Sino-African relations, adding that China spare no efforts to implement the fruits of the Summit.

    The two sides also discussed the latest development of the Mideast regional issues and efforts to promote peace of the Palestinian issue, hailing Egypt's role in keeping regional peace and stability.

    Ragdi, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's NPC and Egyptian People's Assembly Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour attended the meeting.

    Wu, who is currently on a four-day visit in Egypt, is also scheduled to sign with Sorour a memorandum on the establishment of a regular exchange mechanism between the two parliaments.

    Egypt is the first leg of Wu's three-nation tour to Africa and Europe, which will also take him to Hungary and Poland.