Chinese, New Zealand leaders mark 40 years of ties

 BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier¹ Wen Jiabao exchanged congratulatory messages with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In his message, Wen said China-New Zealand relations had made significant progress in the past 40 years and the two countries had created several "firsts" in ties between China and Western countries.

Based on the principles of mutual² respect, equal treatment, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, China would like to work with New Zealand to make the 40th anniversary a new starting point to push the comprehensive relationship of cooperation to a higher level, in a bid to better benefit the two peoples, Wen said.

In his message, Key said, "Today, the relationship with China is one of New Zealand's most important and most wide-ranging."

"We are proud of the 'four firsts' which New Zealand has established with China," he said, adding his country had high aspirations³ for deepening the relationship even further and heading in new directions.

Also on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi exchanged congratulatory messages with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。