UNITED NATIONS - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met Saturday with foreign leaders and diplomats on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

During his meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister Babu Ram Bhattarai and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Yang said that China appreciated the Nepalese government's firm support for China on issues concerning its core interests such as Taiwan and Tibet.

In recent years, the two countries have established a comprehensive cooperative partnership that will carry on from generation to generation, he said.

In order to further promote China-Nepal relations, the two sides need to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, enhance trade and economic cooperation, and increase people-to-people exchanges, Yang said.

China respects Nepal's choice of development path based on its national condition and hopes for stability and development at an early date, Yang said.

Bhattarai and Shrestha said that Nepal and China are friendly neighbors accommodating each other's concerns.

Nepal is willing to work with China to elevate bilateral ties to a new height, they said.

During talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, Yang said that China-Vietnam relations, which enjoy a brilliant prospect, have developed steadily in recent years.

On the issue concerning the South China Sea, the two sides need to handle the relations from a strategic perspective, patch up differences, actively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and promote practical cooperation, he said.

Minh said Vietnam stands ready to work with China to enhance mutual trust and friendship between the two peoples.

Vietnam is willing to make efforts with China to properly handle the disputes over the South China Sea, he added.

In talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Yang said bilateral ties have ushered in a new development phase since the two countries established a comprehensive, strategic, cooperative friendship.

The two sides should strengthen cooperation and coordination on multilateral issues, said Yang.

Hor said his country appreciated China's assistance for Cambodia's economic and social development. And the two countries have also conducted effective cooperation within the ASEAN-China framework, he said.

The two sides also lauded the follow-up action guidelines of the DOC and agreed that it is the first imperative to conduct practical cooperation on issues concerning the South China Sea.

In discussion with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota, Yang said that China-Brazil relations have maintained a good momentum of rapid development.

The two countries have conducted close communication and collaboration on major regional and international issues and made positive contributions to safeguarding the interests of developing countries and promoting world peace and stability, he said.

?China and Brazil need to further expand cooperation in various areas and deepen their strategic partnership, Yang said.

Patriota said Brazil hopes to strengthen trade and investment cooperation with China, make joint efforts to meet global challenges and promote the democratization in international relations.