Reliable Good Friends

The Chinese people are reliable good friends who always adhere to their words，” said Samiu Vaipulu， Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga during his visit to China from December 2 to 9， 2011. He and his party were guests of the CPAFFC during a visit to Beijing， Yantai and Xian.

CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin， Vice Commerce Minister Li Jinzao， Deputy Governor Lou Qinjian of Shaanxi Province and Secretary of the CPC Yantai Municipal Committee Zhang Jiangting met with the Tongan visitors.

Since 1998， when China and Tonga established diplomatic ties， the two countries have witnessed rapid development of non-governmental friendly relations. A delegation of the China-Oceania Friendship Association (COFA) headed by Li Xiaolin and COFA President Liao Hui visited Tonga last August and was given a warm reception by Tongan Princess Pilolevu Tuita， President of the Tonga-China Friendship Association (TCFA) and other members. At her meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister， Li Xiaolin expressed her gratitude to the Tongan people for their warm hospitality and friendship and hoped the friendship would be everlasting.

Deputy Prime Minister Vaipulu said he had always cherished a special feeling for China. A year after the establishment of diplomatic relations， he sent his eldest son to Beijing in the first batch of Tongans to study in China. Now， his youngest daughter is also in Beijing studying Chinese. He did this because， “I knew that in the not too distant future China would become a world economic power. And， I was right.”

The Deputy Prime Minister conveyed greetings from Princess Pilolevu Tuita and said she looked forward to President Li’s next visit to the country. Since its founding in April 2009， the TCFA， under the leadership of Princess Tuita， has been making active efforts to promote friendship with China. It has played host to several CPAFFC and COFA delegations and， at the same time， provided convenience to Chinese enterprises investing in Tonga.

Deputy Prime Minister Vaipulu stressed many times the Tongan Government’s firm determination to uphold the one-China policy. He said: “The Tongan Government pays great attention to the improvement of people’s livelihood， which coincides with Chinese Government’s goal.” He thanked China for its selfless assistance in the economic development and the construction of infrastructure facilities of his country.

He said he supported deepening Tonga-China relations and friendly cooperation in various fields. During his visit to Yantai， he expressed the hope that friendship-city ties would be established with Nuku’alofa， capital of Tonga， so as to promote their friendly contacts and cooperation.

The Deputy Prime Minister also had meetings with Li Ruogu， President of the Export-Import Bank of China， Liu Zhiming， Chairman of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation， Ma Fuan， Chairman of the AVIC International Holding Corporation， Qu Wenchu， Vice President of Huawei Technologies Co.， Ltd.， and Tang Bo， Chairman of the Yantai Construction Group Co.， Ltd.， discussing concrete matters and progress of the cooperation projects between the two sides.