Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Slovakian President Ivan Gasparovic in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, yesterday. -Xinhua

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with his Slovakian counterpart, Mikulas Dzurinda,yesterday.-Xinhua

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Slovak counterpart, Mikulas Dzurinda, agreed on Wednesday to deepen cooperation between their countries. In talks with Dzurinda, the Chinese premier said China hopes to strengthen political, economic and cultural cooperation with Slovakia.

The momentum of high-level contacts should be maintained so that the two countries can have dialogue and consultations over international and regional issues of common concern, said Wen.

In the areas of economy and trade, the two countries should promote mutual investment, enhance technology exchanges, encourage enterprises of the two countries to cooperate and create favorable conditions for their cooperation, he said.

China proposes to expand contacts in such fields as culture, education and tourism in an attempt to boost mutual understanding and friendship, said the Chinese premier.

He said relations between China and Slovakia, building on achievements with the former Czechoslovakia, have made new progress after Slovakia and the Czech Republic split in 1993.

Politically, the two countries have respected each other's path of development and treated each other as equal partners, said Wen. The two countries have had good collaboration in international organizations like the United Nations.

Economic and trade cooperation has borne fruit as bilateral trade increased eight-fold in the past 12 years, said Wen.

There is no fundamental conflict of interests between the two countries and China attaches importance to relations with Slovakia, he said.

Dzurinda agreed with Wen on his evaluation of the bilateral relations and his suggestions on future cooperation.

He said the Slovak side is happy with the political and economic relations with China. China's rapid economic growth has created opportunities for Slovak enterprises while Slovakia, at the heart of Europe, is a good place for investment by companies from China or elsewhere.

Slovakia looks forward to further strengthening political, economic and cultural relations and enhancing consultations in international affairs with China, he said.

Dzurinda said his country would stick to a "One-China" policy.

The two leaders also exchanged views on China-Europe relations, reform of the United Nations as well as other international and regional issues of common concern.

Wen arrived in Bratislava Wednesday afternoon for a 24-hour visit after his trip to France. He will travel to the Czech Republic and Portugal before his visit to Malaysia.