On February 22, 2011, Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun visited south Sudan. He exchanged in-depth views with First Vice President of Sudan and President of the government of south Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit and other south government officials on Sudan’s peace process, preparations for south Sudan’s independence and the bilateral relations in the future.

Information Minister Benjamin welcomes　Zhai at the airport	Shaking hands with the people

On behalf of the Chinese government, Zhai expressed congratulations on the recent south Sudan referendum. He pointed out that the referendum does not mark the end of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). To achieve comprehensive peace between north and south is the ultimate objective. South Sudan is about to open a new page of history. Both north and south face the important tasks of building lasting peace, forging good-neighborly friendship and conducting mutually beneficial cooperation. He hopes the two sides continue to implement the CPA and solve the pending problems through dialogue and friendly consultations in the spirit of mutual understanding. China firmly supports Sudan’s peace process and development and expects to conduct friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and equality and develop the friendly cooperative relations based on mutual trust and mutual benefit with south Sudan.

Meeting with President of the government of south Sudan Kiir	Taking group photos with Kiir

Kiir extended warm welcome to Zhai on his visit to the south at this critical historical moment and asked him to convey his cordial greetings to President Hu Jintao and Vice President Xi Jinping. He said that China is a big power with major influence in the world and remains the friend of both south and north. The south Sudanese people appreciate China’s help to build comprehensive peace and promote economic development of south. The government of south Sudan will resolutely pursue the one-China policy, protect the safety and economic interest of Chinese citizens in the south and deepen the friendly cooperation with China, especially cooperation on energy and mineral resources, infrastructure construction, agriculture and personnel training.

Shaking hands with Kiir at parting	Shaking hands with Kiir at parting

On February 7, 2011, Sudan announced the result of south referendum. The majority of voters select to split with the north. According to the CPA, the south will establish an independent state after the transition period ends on July 9. Against that background Zhai paid the visit. During the stay, he also held in-depth talks with the south government’s minister of presidential affairs, information minister, agriculture minister and vice minister of regional cooperation on the preparations for the south’s independence and the bilateral friendly cooperative relations in the future. Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen and Consul General to Juba Li Zhiguo attended those activities.

Meeting with Minister of Presidential Affairs	Information Minister Benjamin sees Zhai off at the airport