Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Tuesday morning met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in the coastal city of Alexandria on bilateral relations and the volatile Mideast situation.

Mubarak described the Egyptian-Chinese relations as good and strong, noting that the political relations between the two countries were steadily developing with exchange of high-level visits. Economic and trade cooperation is also on the increase.

Recalling his eight visits to China, President Mubarak expressed willingness to strengthen friendship and cooperative relations with Chinese leaders.

He also expressed hope to visit China early next year.

For his part, Li Zhaoxing said that Chinese President Hu Jintao and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak defined the direction of development of Sino-Egyptian ties in the 21st century and reached a broader consensus on bilateral relations and strategic partnership between the two countries.

"The two countries are working together to carry out the results of the presidential talks in an effort to push forward bilateral ties in an all-round manner," Li Zhaoxing said. The Chinese diplomat expressed confidence that Sino-Egyptian strategic relations would be further developed thanks to the efforts of the two leaders.

Li Zhaoxing arrived here Sunday evening for a three-day visit to Egypt, which is the last stop of his current Mideast trip, which has taken him to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman.

He is expected to leave for China Tuesday evening after attending the first ministerial meeting of the Sino-Arab Cooperation Forum.