Senior Chinese official welcomes Mubarak's visit to China

China welcomes the prospected visit of President Hosni Mubarak to China early in 2002, said the Chinese deputy Prime Minister who hoped that the visit would push relations forward and yield positive outcome. This came during the meeting between the deputy prime minister and Egyptian Ambassador Mohammad Noaman who concluded his tour of duty in Beijing.

The deputy prime minister lauded developments in bilateral relations during the recent years, especially high-ranking officials' visits, said Noaman.

He added that the meeting tackled the various achievements in bilateral ties during the past years, Mubarak's visit to China in 1999 and the visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in 2000 as well as the signing of a pact establishing strategic cooperation between Egypt and China.

Trade exchange has been promoted to reach some $ 1 billion in 2000 and Egypt was included as a tourist destination for tourists in 2001, the Egyptian ambassador said.