The Republic of the Congo support China's stance on the South China Sea issue of resolving disputes through direct negotiation, said the country's president Denis Sassou N'Guesso.

The African country's president made the remarks while meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The two presidents agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership level on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the two countries signed 10 agreements to boost cooperation in areas including finance, infrastructure, agriculture and culture. China agreed to help the Republic of the Congo build an economic experimental zone.

Mentioning that it's the fifth meeting between the two presidents, Xi said that China is the largest trade partner, the largest project contractor and important investment source of the Republic of Congo.

Calling the Republic of Congo "a good brother on the same boat, good partner for joint development, and good friend to treat each other sincerely", Xi said that the two countries have supported each other in their major concerns and core interests.

Sassou N'Guesso expressed congratulation to the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. He welcomed Chinese companies to invest in the Republic of Congo.