Mr. Xue, after the hour-long audience held in President Biya’s third floor office, told the press that he had wished to meet the President at the year’s end so as to make an appraisal of cooperation ties in the year about to end. He said the appraisal of the cooperation ties made by the President and himself was largely satisfactory, specifically mentioning the areas of agriculture and health where some new ground was broken.
The Chinese envoy announced that 2011 was going to be particularly eventful as China and Cameroon will be commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The diplomat suggested that this occasion should be commemorated with the pomp it requires. Moreover, he suggested that the 40th anniversary should provide a good occasion to extend cooperation ties to new areas. Already in Mr Xue’s mind are projects in the fields of agriculture, telecommunications and air transport.
Requested to comment on President Biya’s role in sustaining these ties, the Chinese Ambassador disclosed that in his discussions, he found the President to be very concerned about improving the lot of ordinary Cameroonians. “He has many ideas and strategies to ensure that Cameroonians are taken out of poverty and believes that working with China, solutions can easily come,” he told the press. Cameroon and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations on March 26, 1971. Cooperation ties have since developed steadily to the extent that China is today one of Cameroon’s most trusted foreign partners. There have been very many high-level visits between leaders of the two countries. The peak came with the visit of President Hu Jintao to Cameroon in January 2007. President Biya has visited China regularly; the last official visit being the one he made, along with several other African peers, in November 2006
