Irish President Mary McAleese met here Wednesday with senior Chinese legislator Wang Zhaoguo, with both sides pledging to continue efforts to promote bilateral cooperation.

McAleese said the relations between Ireland and China show a good development momentum all these years, adding that the two sides have seen a rapid development of mutually-beneficial cooperation in various fields.

She said such cooperation have brought actual benefits to the two countries and peoples.

McAleese said Ireland attaches great importance to its development of relations with China.

The Irish president added that her country is ready to fully promote the exchanges and cooperation in all fields so as to enrich and consolidate the friendly ties with China.

For his part, Wang said China and Ireland enjoy long-standing friendship. He hailed the smooth development of China-Ireland ties since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, highlighting that the two peoples treat each other sincerely.

He said the relationship, deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of the two peoples, becomes the model of countries that have different territory sizes, different social systems and different cultural traditions but co-exist in a friendly way.

Wang, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, led an NPC delegation to Ireland for a five-day official goodwill visit starting from Wednesday.

Ireland is the second leg of Wang's ongoing three-nation European tour which has taken him to Ukraine. He is scheduled to visit Poland before returning to China.

During the meeting, Wang conveyed Chinese President Hu Jintao's cordial greetings and good wishes to McAleese while she expressed her thanks and asked to convey to President Hu her cordial greetings.

Recent years have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges, deepening political mutual trust and rapid development of economic and trade cooperation, Wang said, adding that China has become Ireland's biggest trading partner in Asia over the past five consecutive years.

He added the cooperation in areas like education, science and technology and culture are becoming more active.

The Ireland pavilion in Shanghai World Expo last year displayed Ireland's unique and unusual charms and is well received among Chinese people, Wang said.

Keeping a friendly and cooperative bilateral relationship based on long-term stability, equality, mutual benefit not only serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, but also helps maintain world peace and development, he said.

He also said China highly values the development of friendly relations with Ireland.

He added China is willing to work together with Ireland to enrich the connotation of bilateral ties, deepen the pragmatic cooperation in all fields and bring the relations between the two countries to a new high.