MADRID, June 20 (Xinhua) -- He Guoqiang, a senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) met on Wednesday with President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies Jose Bono.

    He, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said during the meeting that the steady and sound growth of China-Spain relations would have been impossible without the efforts of the parliaments and parties of both countries.

    Inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation are a crucial part of the overall China-Spain relations and serve as an important channel for both peoples to deepen mutual understanding and enhance friendship, He said.

    He conveyed top Chinese lawmaker Wu Bangguo's regards to Bono and said the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, would continue its friendly cooperation with the Spanish parliament.

    He, also secretary of the CPC's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said the CPC would like to step up friendly cooperation with all parties in the Spanish parliament.

    Bono said that despite the geographical distance between the two countries, people of Spain and China have increased their exchanges and showed stronger interests in knowing each other.

    Stressing that both countries have more and more common grounds, Bono spoke highly of China's development and said he hoped Spain could benefit from China's growth.

    Bono said the Spanish legislature would increase exchange and cooperation with the NPC to push for stronger country-to-country ties.

    On Tuesday, He met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. The two discussed bilateral relations before signing economic and trade deals.

    Also on Tuesday, He went to visit the headquarters of Spain's Telefonica, the leading operator that acquired stakes in China Netcom in 2005.

    Leaders of both Telefonica and China Unicom, which merged with China Netcom in October 2008, gave He briefings on their businesses and how their strategic partnership went.

    He said the China-Spain relations now stand at an all-time high and China's telecommunications sector has enjoyed a robust growth, which would allow Telefonica and other Spanish companies to do more business in China.

    He said the Chinese government also encourages domestic companies with strong capacities and a good reputation to go abroad and work more closely with foreign businesses.

    He called on Chinese and Spanish businesses to explore new areas for cooperation.

    He arrived in Madrid on Monday after concluding an Egypt tour. During his stay in Madrid, He also met with the Spanish King and other leaders. The fortnight visit will also take him to Jordan and Mongolia.