ABU DHABI,  (Xinhua) -- China will work together with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to seek new progress in deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership, visiting senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi said on Saturday.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks during his meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the UAE's capital.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, conveyed the cordial greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the crown prince.

He said that during the crown prince's visit to China last year, an important consensus was reached on a long-term plan to consolidate and advance the China-UAE relations, drawing a blueprint for their development in the new era.

China always regards the UAE as a priority in its diplomacy, Yang said, adding that under the strategic guidance of President Xi and the Abu Dhabi crown prince, China will enrich the connotation of its comprehensive strategic partnership with UAE, strengthen political confidence and mutual support, promote alignment of development strategies, and advance high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.

China will also deepen its cooperation with the UAE in the health field including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, help the Gulf country to host the Dubai World Expo, and continue to seek new progress in boosting the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership in the post-pandemic era, Yang noted.

He expressed China's support to the UAE for playing a greater role in regional and international affairs, while pledging to continue China's unity and cooperation with the UAE and the developing countries on sticking to the path of multilateralism, and promoting a more just and reasonable international order and global governance system.

For his part, Sheikh Mohammed asked Yang to convey the sincere greetings from the UAE president and himself to President Xi.

He said that the UAE is deeply proud of its friendship with China, adding that the extremely fruitful cooperation on developing a COVID-19 vaccine has fully reflected the high-level mutual trust between the two countries.

The crown prince thanked China for supporting the UAE to host the World Expo, while expressing the UAE's willingness to expand practical cooperation with China in the fields of transportation, production capacity, high-tech and health, to strengthen bilateral coordination and cooperation in regional and global affairs, and to continuously deepen the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership.

Yang arrived in the UAE from Sri Lanka, the first leg of his five-day overseas trip which will also take him to Algeria and Serbia.  ■