CAIRO, October 1(Xinhua)-- The prospercts of China's development are promising and bright, said Youssef Amin Wali, Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation late Sunday.

The senior Egyptian official made the remark at a reception hosted by Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming to mark the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on September 30.

Wali spoke highly of the outstanding achievements gained by China in carrying out its economic development and upgrading the people's living standard under the leadership of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

"Egypt has always attached importance to the development of friendly and cooperative relations with China," Wali said, while citing that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has visited China for seven times and is looking forward to his coming visit to China again in the near future.

Wali expressed his belief that Egyptian-Chinese bilateral ties would be further consolidated and developed.

Addressing the reception, Ambassador Liu said that "the friendly exchanges between our two countries date back to ancient times. Not long ago, we celebrated the 45th anniversary of our diplomatic ties. In the past 45 years, we have always supported each other and have all along had good cooperation in all areas."

Liu pointed out that the relationship has been brought to a new stage when President Jiang Zemin and President Mubarak decided to establish a strategic and cooperative relationship between China and Egypt in 1999.

Liu stressed that China values highly its relations with Egypt. The two countries have had affective and productive cooperation in bilateral relations as well as in international affairs.

Around 600 guests were present at the reception, including Egyptian Minister of Education Hussein Bahaeddin, Minister of Tourism Mamdouh Beltagui and Ahmed Mahrouse el-Darsh, Minister of State for Planning and International Cooperation.