KIEV, Sept. 6 -- Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) leader Liu Yunshan met with Ukrainian leaders here on Friday and they pledged to make more efforts to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries.

"The CPC and the Chinese government attach great importance to the friendship with Ukraine and always regard Ukraine as a faithful friend and partner," Liu said in a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, arrived in the Ukrainian capital Thursday evening for an official visit to the country.

Hailing the traditional friendship between the two nations, Liu said the agreement signed in 2011 on the establishment of a China-Ukraine strategic partnership has ushered in a new phase of the development of bilateral ties.

Liu told the Ukrainian president that the Chinese side hopes political trust, practical cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges will work as three pillars for the growth of the China-Ukraine strategic partnership.

The two countries have maintained frequent high-level exchanges, while two-way trade grew smoothly and reached 9.8 billion U.S. dollars last year, a 40-fold increase since the two nations established diplomatic ties in 1992.

Bilateral trade is expected to hit 20 billion dollars in the near future.

Meanwhile, more than 37,000 Ukrainians visited China in the past two years, up 31 percent from the 2009-2010 period, according to the Ukrainian State Statistics Service.

During the meeting, Yanukovych said China is a reliable partner for Ukraine and the relationship with China enjoys a priority in Ukraine's foreign policy.

Yanukovych told Liu that he looks forward to visiting China this year to map out a blueprint for the future development of bilateral relations with Chinese leaders.

Ukraine will continue to firmly support China's efforts to safeguard its core interests, he added.

Noting the achievements made in educational and cultural cooperation between the two countries, Liu said the Chinese government encourages Chinese students to study in Ukraine and hopes more Ukrainian young people will come to study at Chinese universities.

Statistics show that more than 10,000 Chinese students are now studying in Ukraine and there are 1,600 Ukrainian students in China.

There are also five Confucius Institutes in Ukraine, a non-profit public institution that teaches Chinese language and culture in foreign countries.

On Friday afternoon, Liu attended the opening ceremony of Ukraine's fifth Confucius Institute in Kyiv National Linguistic University.

During his meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Liu said China and Ukraine should also boost cooperation in science and technology to combine Ukraine's technology and China's capital and market in a more effective way.

Echoing Liu, Azarov said he looks forward to closer coordination with the Chinese side to tap the potential for cooperation and further advance bilateral strategic partnership.

Liu and Azarov, who is also head of Ukraine's ruling Party of Regions, pledged to increase party-to-party exchanges to further enhance the relationship between the two countries.

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