In this Jan 6, 2020 photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with then Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, who is now president of the Southeast Asian country, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Now (LIU WEIBING / XINHUA)

BEIJING – Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, on Wednesday held talks with Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president.

They stressed the need to uphold the principle of "long-term stability, good-neighborly friendship, mutual trust and all-round cooperation" and the spirit of "good neighbors, friends, comrades and partners" in developing bilateral ties.

The Lao top leader is visiting China in a trip that is expected to deepen political mutual trust and tap potential for practical cooperation between the two countries.

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The two countries will respect and trust each other politically, benefit each other economically, deepen mutual understanding and amity in the people-to-people exchanges, constantly deepen the building of a community with a shared future for China and Laos, and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, according to the leaders.

At the beginning of the talks, Xi said that Comrade Jiang Zemin passed away on Wednesday in Shanghai due to illness after all medical treatments had failed.

Xi said Comrade Jiang was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

Thongloun Sisoulith is visiting China in a trip that is expected to deepen political mutual trust and tap potential for practical cooperation between the two countries

He was the core of the CPC's third generation of central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents, he added.

"We profoundly mourn Comrade Jiang and will turn grief into strength to work in a concerted effort to build a modern socialist country in all aspects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way in accordance with the plan of the 20th CPC National Congress.”

Thongloun expressed deep condolences over the death of Comrade Jiang, saying that it is a huge loss for the CPC and the Chinese people, and the LPRP and the Lao people feel the same way.

Comrade Jiang was a close friend of the LPRP and the Lao people. During his visit to Laos in 2000, Jiang proposed the principle of "long-term stability, good-neighborly friendship, mutual trust and all-round cooperation," which has played a guiding role in the development of bilateral relations, said Thongloun.

He said the Lao Party, government and people will work with the Chinese counterparts to continuously push forward the China-Laos friendship.