Chinese national flag raised in Nauru after nearly 19 years of hiatus

YAREN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese national flag-raising ceremony was held on Monday in Nauru by a Chinese diplomatic team, marking the first time in nearly 19 years that the five-star red flag has been raised in the Pacific island country.

The ceremony was held by the team responsible for reestablishing the Chinese embassy in Nauru in a compound that also houses their temporary offices.

China and Nauru are naturally complementary and have great potential in bilateral cooperation, Wang Xuguang, head of the diplomatic team, told reporters.

"I am fully confident of the future cooperation between the two countries in various fields," Wang said.

"Going forward, the two sides should strengthen the alignment of their development strategies, strive to find common ground for cooperation, and carry out more and better projects so that the two peoples can benefit from bilateral relations at an earlier date," he said.

The Nauruan government issued a statement on Jan. 15, announcing that it recognizes the one-China principle, severed the so-called "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, and is willing to resume diplomatic relations with China.

China and Nauru signed a joint communique in Beijing on Jan. 24 on the resumption of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.