China is ready to continue to strengthen consultations and coordination with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), said Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in Beijing Sunday.

Li made the remark while meeting with the visiting GCC Secretary-General Abdul-rahman Al-attiyah, who is in Beijing for a joint visit from July 4 to 7, along with the six ministers of the GCC member states.

China and the GCC members have enjoyed sound cooperation in recent years, said Li, adding that China appreciated the GCC's role in promoting regional stability and development, and in facilitating relations between China and the GCC member states.

Al-attiyah said that the GCC member states and China have been in stable relations, and the GCC values the positive attitude China has adopted in international and regional affairs.

The GCC is willing to further cooperation with China in various fields, said Al-attiyah.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2004)