MALABO - President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Thursday met with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative Yang Jiechi with both sides pledging to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Yang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said bilateral friendship has a long history and has become increasingly solid with the passage of time.

The two countries' presidents had a fruitful meeting during the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and reached important consensus on bilateral relations, said Yang, adding that his visit is aimed at deepening communication with Equatorial Guinea to implement the consensus and results of the summit.

Noting that China will follow the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, as well as the approach of upholding justice and pursuing shared interests put forward by Xi, Yang said China is willing to work with Equatorial Guinea to deepen exchanges of governance experience and continue to support each other on issues concerning their core interests.

In efforts to construct the Belt and Road and implement the eight major initiatives proposed at the Beijing summit, China will strengthen pragmatic cooperation with Equatorial Guinea, support its economic diversification and bring benefits to its people, so as to elevate the two countries' comprehensive cooperative partnership to a higher level, said Yang.

For his part, Obiang described China as an important cooperation partner, saying his country appreciated the fact that China has for long provided vigorous support and assistance for Equatorial Guinea.

Obiang said Equatorial Guinea welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in the country, which is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China.

Equatorial Guinea will continue to promote communication and coordination with China on international and regional affairs, Obiang added.