Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Moroccan Senate President Moustapha Okacha in Rabat, capital of Morocco, April 25, 2006. -Xinhua

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Rabat yesterday with Moroccan Prime Minister Driss Jettou, Senate President Moustapha Okacha, and Chamber of Representatives President Abdeloughed Radi.

In his meeting with Jettou, Hu said China and Morocco enjoy sound political relations and great potentials for economic and trade cooperation.

He said he hoped the two countries will explore new ways and means to expand economic and trade cooperation.

He suggested that the two countries expand bilateral trade and investment cooperation in such key areas as agriculture, fishery, oil and gas development, push forward project engineering covering Morocco's infrastructural projects such as highway, railway, tunnel and telecommunications, and promote tourism cooperation with the hope to better implement bilateral agreements in this regard.

Jettou agreed with Hu and said Morocco hopes to become China's economic and trade partner, which conforms with Morocco's interest.

He said a number of Morocco's projects in highway, port and power construction welcome China's participation.

The Moroccan government will provide Chinese enterprises with preferential policies to facilitate their investment, said Jettou.

In his respective meetings with Okacha and Radi, Hu said the development of bilateral friendship and cooperation is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and their peoples, and conducive to peace, stability and development of the region.

Hu said the Chinese side will work with the Moroccan side to continuously enhance bilateral friendship and cooperation.

He said he hoped that the two parliaments continue exchanges so as to push forward the political and economic development of the two countries, thus making contributions to bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Okacha said he hoped to keep contacts with China's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to promote mutual understandings and the development of bilateral relations.

Radi said the Moroccan parliament will make all-out efforts to push forward bilateral relations.

Okacha and Radi stressed Morocco's one-China policy, which was appreciated by Hu.

Hu started his three-day state visit to Morocco Monday.

Morocco is the third leg of Hu's five-nation tour which has already taken him to the United States and Saudi Arabia, and will also take him to Nigeria and Kenya.

China-Morocco trade reached 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2005, increasing by 28 percent compared with the previous year.