China's top legislator Zhao Leji met separately with Botswana's President Duma Gideon Boko and President of the Council of the Togolese Republic Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé in Beijing on Tuesday.

In the meeting with Boko, Zhao, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said Botswana is China's important partner in Southern Africa, and China stands ready to work with Botswana to deliver on the important consensus reached by the two heads of state.

Zhao stated that the NPC stands ready to strengthen cooperation with the parliament of Botswana, carry out experience-sharing on democracy and rule-of-law development, and provide legal safeguards for bilateral practical cooperation.

Boko said Botswana attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with China, firmly abides by the one-China principle, and hopes the two legislative bodies will enhance exchanges and deepen cooperation in capacity-building, personnel training and other fields.

In the meeting with Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Zhao said China stands ready to work with Togo, guided by the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, to deepen political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and foster closer people-to-people exchanges.

Zhao added that the NPC stands ready to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with both houses of the Togolese parliament and enhance coordination and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union. 

Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé said Togo hopes to bolster Togo-China practical cooperation, deepen dialogue and exchanges between legislative bodies, and strengthen multilateral coordination.