Learn from China's experience for development: Yemeni president

Yemenwants to learn from China's experience to develop itself and hopes China could help it escape its current economic, political and security dilemmas, Yemen President Abdal-Rab Mansur Al-Hadii said in Beijing on Tuesday.[Special report]

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Al-Hadii expressed his gratitude to Chinese leaders and people for their selfless assistance to his country over a long time.

He also expressed his wish to learn from China's successful experience in order to help his country through its current crises.

Al-Hadii is in China on a state visit from Tuesday to Friday at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Talking of the just concluded Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Al-Hadii said the plenum was of great importance and had mapped out the blueprint for China's future economic development and reform process. It had put the Chinese economy in the "fast lane", he said.

Al-Hadii said Yemen and China enjoyed a long history of relations, and that the two sides had maintained a profound friendship since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 50 years ago.

The two countries are in accord in terms of strategic goals, Al-Hadii said. Yemen firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and China also supports Yemen's national unity, he said.

Al-Hadii listed examples of China's selfless and practical assistance to Yemen and expressed the Yemeni people's admiration of the Chinese people. "They often talk about the Sana-Hodeidah highway built with Chinese assistance," he said.

The Sana-Hodeidah highway runs from the shores of the Red Sea at the port city of Hodeidah to the capital Sana. It was completed in 1961 with a loan from the Chinese government in 1958.

Al-Hadii said the meetings with Chinese leaders would focus on enhancing bilateral political, economic and trade relations, in particular economic cooperation.

Yemen, a devastated country that needs to improve electricity and water supply systems as well as rebuilding roads and airports, looks for China's help in the construction of infrastructure, Al-Hadii said.

The president said he welcomed Chinese investment in Yemen, which had developed a series of plans for economic development.

A lot of projects need investment from China and other countries in such areas as tourism, infrastructure, health, oil and gas, he said.

Al-Hadii condemned the recent terrorist attack in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, which killed two civilians and injured another 40. "Terrorism has become a global issue, which needs joint efforts from the international community," he said.

He said terrorist activities were rampant in Yemen due to extreme poverty, adding one of the aims of his visit was to obtain assistance from China in developing his country's economy so young people would not be lured into terrorism.

Regarding the piracy problems in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia, Al-Hadii said the drastic piracy and smuggling of drugs and weapons were due to the poverty in Somalia and Yemen, which he described as "two poor lands looking at each other across the sea".

He expressed his appreciation of the escort mission and anti-piracy efforts exerted by the international community, including China, saying that to eradicate poverty needed international cooperation.

Al-Hadii said no matter how long the conflicts in Syriaand Libya lasted, the final and best solution was to break the impasse through dialogue.

He took Yemen's internal conflict in 2011 as an example, saying with the help of the international community, Yemen had succeeded in avoiding a civil war by "disarming the combatants, sitting around the negotiation table, and inking the power transfer deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)."

Al-Hadii also introduced the Yemeni national reconciliation process, saying a national dialogue had achieved considerable progress, which he believed would lead his country to peace and stability.

"We solve problems in a peaceful way. The key is to safeguard Yemen's security, stability and unity," he said.