Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera (R) shakes hands with Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security of China and the special envoy for the upcoming presidential inauguration, in Santiago, Capital of Chile, Mar. 10, 2010. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)

Sebastian Pinera, who is to take office as Chile's president on Thursday, met with Yin Weimin, China's human resources and social security minister, on Wednesday.

Yin, who will represent China at Pinera's Thursday inauguration ceremony, told media he had a friendly meeting with Pinera, to whom he conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes from Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. He also conveyed the deepest condolences and solidarity of the Chinese people and government "for the serious earthquake that this noble nation has suffered."

He said that the two sides had reviewed "the steady development of friendly relations" over the past 40 years, and discussed how to further promote bilateral links.

"We agreed on the need to further consolidate political links, to develop new economic and trade cooperation projects, and to make more effort in cultural exchange," Yin said.

Pinera won the second round of presidential elections on Jan. 17, defeating former president Eduardo Frei. He will replace President Michelle Bachelet, who represents the same coalition as Frei, the Concertation.

Chinese President Hu was among the first world leaders to express solidarity with Chile after the Feb. 27 8.8-magnitude earthquake that killed some 500 people and caused property damage worth millions of dollars. In his message, Hu also expressed China 's readiness to send aid to the South America nation for quake relief.

Last week, China sent in an aircraft carrying 2 million dollars worth of aid material, including 700 tents, 10,000 blankets, 100 portable electricity generators and two water purification units.

Trade between Chile and China reached over 17.4 billion dollars in 2009, thanks to a free trade agreement that came into force in 2006. China is Chile's largest trade partner and a main consumer of the country's copper exports.