Wednesday in Beijing, visiting Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski celebrated Macedonia's ties with China, saying his country would stick to the one-China policy.

"Our relationship with China tops Macedonia's foreign policies," Crvenkovski said when he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People.

He promised that Macedonia would "unswervingly" adhere to the one-China policy and support China's efforts for peaceful reunification.

Echoing Crvenkovski's view on bilateral relations, Hu said China always regarded Macedonia as a "good friend" in the west Balkan region and is willing to expand political mutual trust, boost economic and trade cooperation, and strengthen bilateral exchange and cooperation in the humanitarian fields such as culture, education, technology, and sports.

The two heads of state also signed a joint statement after the talks, in which the two sides vowed to further strengthen and deepen China-Macedonia mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas and on international and regional issues of mutual interest.

The two sides highly evaluated the impressive progress made in bilateral relations since normalization, and emphasized that the China-Macedonia traditional friendship is a shared wealth of the two peoples and a solid foundation for further growth of bilateral ties, the statement said.

The two sides also expressed their willingness to further strengthen and enrich dialogues at all levels, stressing that business cooperation is the priority area of bilateral relations and would render energetic support to increasing contact and expanding cooperation between their companies on the basis of principles of equality, mutual benefit, and win-win results, and create conditions to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.

On the Taiwan issue, Macedonia reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China policy, acknowledging that there is only one China in the world, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.

"The Macedonian side stated once again that it will not establish official ties of any form or conduct official exchanges with Taiwan, and that it opposes Taiwan's accession to any international organization whose membership requires statehood, that it opposes separatist activities for the island's independence in all its manifestations, including the referendum on joining UN under the name of Taiwan, and that it respects and supports all efforts made by China for national reunification," Macedonia said in the statement.

China also voiced its respect for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Macedonia, and Macedonian people's choice of the path of development in accordance with their national reality.

"The Chinese side understands the strong desire of Macedonia for its own constitutional name to be used within the UN system and supports the positive efforts made by Macedonia in resolving the issue" said China in the statement.

"The Chinese side admires Macedonia's achievements in maintaining social stability, promoting economic growth, and raising people's living standards," China said in the statement, adding that the country respects and understands Macedonia's efforts to become part of the Europe-Atlantic integration process.

Crvenkovski arrived in China on Tuesday as Hu's guest. He will also visit Shanghai and Guangzhou during his stay in China.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2007)