Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) shakes hands with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (R) in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, Feb 11, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

HARARE, Zimbabwe - The profound traditional friendship between China and Zimbabwe has stood the test of time and international vicissitudes, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during his meeting with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday.

China appreciates the support provided by Zimbabwe on issues concerning its core interests and major concerns, said Yang. In recent years, there have been frequent high-level exchanges between the two sides. The cooperation projects with Zimbabwe under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation are being actively carried out. Yang stated that to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries is an important component of China's foreign policy.

Yang noted that the three factions of the two political parties in Zimbabwe have been working in concert to promote economic and social development and made notable progress. China has consistently called for the resolution of the Zimbabwe issue through dialogue and negotiation and would continue to call on relevant countries to remove their sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Mugabe said that China is a sincere friend that treats Africa as an equal and is becoming more and more popular on the continent. He said he appreciated China's longstanding assistance to Zimbabwe's economic and social development.

Tsvangirai said that Chinese assistance has brought tangible benefits to his people and he welcomed more Chinese companies to invest in Zimbabwe.

Yang and his Zimbabwean counterpart Simbarashe Mumbengegwi signed a bilateral agreement on economic and technical cooperation on Friday.