beijing, july 17 (xinhua) -- a senior leader of the communist party of china (cpc) on tuesday said china is willing to cement a strategic partnership with ukraine.

he guoqiang, a member of the standing committee of the political bureau of the cpc central committee, made the remarks while meeting with visiting ukrainian foreign minister konstyantyn hryshchenko.

he said china-ukraine diplomatic ties have developed smoothly over the past 20 years amid frequent high-level visits, strengthened political trust, expanded cooperation in various areas and close coordination in major global and regional issues.

"the chinese government highly values its relations with ukraine, and respects the development path the ukrainian people choose for their country based on national conditions," said he, also secretary of the cpc central commission for discipline inspection.

he said china would work closely with the country to cement trust and open up new prospects for bilateral ties.

hryshchenko said developing ties with china is a priority for ukraine.

at the invitation of his chinese counterpart yang jiechi, hryshchenko on tuesday kicked off an official visit to china and they held talks on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern.

the two ministers signed an annual consultation plan between the two foreign ministries after their talks.