Hu, Bush cite 30 years of China diplomacy

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BEIJING, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George Bush have exchanged congratulations on 30 years of China-U.S. diplomatic relations, officials said.

Hu and Bush talked by telephone Sunday, touching on bilateral relations and exchanging congratulations on what has been achieved since the forging of diplomatic ties between China and the United States three decades ago, Xinhua, the state-run Chinese news agency, reported.

The two presidents said they hoped a series of events to mark the anniversary would be successful and Hu agreed with Bush's call for the further development of a constructive and cooperative Sino-U.S. relationship, the news agency said.

Hu, bringing up the Middle East situation, told Bush that China is "seriously concerned" about escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli fighting and is "deeply worried" about the humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Hu said China is calling on all the parties to stop military operations, relax tensions in the region and create conditions for a political solution, Xinhua reported.