By XU WEI and CAO DESHENG: President Xi Jinping reaffirmed on Tuesday Beijing’s commitment to high-level opening-up, advancing Belt and Road cooperation and upholding true multilateralism, during separate meetings with heads of government from four countries.
The president met in Beijing with the prime ministers of Barbados, New Zealand, Mongolia and Vietnam on the sidelines of the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, during their official visits to China.
He welcomed the countries to share opportunities from China’s high-quality growth as the nation moves forward on its own pathway to modernization.
Barbados
During his meeting with Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Xi said the fact that Beijing is moving forward with Chinese modernization through high-quality development will usher in new opportunities for the Eastern Caribbean country and bilateral cooperation.
He called on both sides to deepen political mutual trust and support each other on issues related to each other’s core interests and major concerns.
It is important for Beijing and Barbados, as two developing nations, to expand pragmatic cooperation and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the joint building of the Belt and Road, in order to advance cooperation on infrastructure development, digital economy, climate change, renewable energy, agriculture and healthcare, Xi said.
He appealed for greater unity and cooperation in the developing world to practice true multilateralism, oppose Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, and safeguard the basic norms of international relations and fairness and justice in the international arena.
Xi expressed China’s “full understanding” of the concerns of small island developing states like Barbados regarding climate change, and he pledged to further enhance South-South cooperation in this regard, providing assistance and support to developing countries.
Mottley applauded China’s achievements in poverty eradication and enhancement of public well-being, saying that the Global Development Initiative proposed by the Chinese president “demonstrated outstanding global leadership” and will contribute to common prosperity and development for all nations and people, as well as to better tackling of global challenges.
Barbados hopes to strengthen cooperation with China on the response to climate change, as well as water resources, healthcare and tackling the digital divide, she said, adding that her country opposes decoupling or the severing of supply chains.
New Zealand
In talks with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, President Xi underscored that China’s efforts to seek self-reliance and self-improvement are never about closing its doors, but rather about better connecting its domestic and international markets.
China, with its vast land and huge population, can only seek its development based on its own strength, he told Hipkins, who is making his first visit to Beijing since taking office in January.
An open China is crucial to achieving its modernization, Xi said, adding that Beijing will remain unwavering in advancing high-level opening-up and better protecting the legitimate interests of foreign investors.
Xi reiterated that China considers New Zealand a friend and partner, expressing willingness to work together with New Zealand to embark on a new era in bilateral relations and ensure the long-term stability and progress of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.
The two sides should continue to see each other as partners instead of rivals and opportunities rather than threats, and should consolidate the foundation for bilateral relations, he said.
He highlighted the implementation of the upgraded version of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, as well as promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and providing a better business environment for each other’s enterprises.
The two nations should jointly uphold true multilateralism and the free trade system and jointly respond to global challenges such as climate change, he said.
Hipkins said his country attaches great importance to ties with China, and he called upon both sides to continue deepening cooperation in economy, trade, education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
Differences should not define the bilateral relations, and what is important is to maintain candid exchanges and mutual respect and put aside differences while seeking common ground, he said.
Mongolia
President Xi highlighted the need for China and Mongolia to adhere to mutual respect for national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as respect for the development path independently chosen by each country, and to support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.
He told visiting Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene that developing long-term, good-neighborly relations is a strategic choice made by both countries and fully caters to the fundamental interests of the two peoples.
Noting that China is a partner that Mongolia can trust and rely on, Xi said that the nation is willing to continuously deepen friendly relations with Mongolia, strengthen mutual trust and cooperation and inject more stability and certainty into the region and the world.
He said that China actively advances global environmental governance and is willing to cooperate with Mongolia on desertification control.
Saying that China and Mongolia are both developing countries with broad common interests and similar standpoints on international and regional affairs, Xi underlined the need for both countries to firmly defend multilateralism and build a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, cooperation and win-win results.
Oyun-Erdene said that Mongolia adheres to the one-China principle and supports China’s stance on the Taiwan question as well as issues related to Tibet and Xinjiang.
Mongolia supports the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, all proposed by Xi, and is willing to work closely with China to continue to respect and support each other’s choice of development paths and the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.
Vietnam
President Xi called for China and Vietnam to jointly oppose decoupling, disruption of industrial and supply chains and the act of politicizing economic and technological issues, in order to uphold international fairness and justice, during talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
While enhancing bilateral cooperation, the two countries should jointly safeguard their own development rights and interests, and promote the international order becoming more just and reasonable, creating a peaceful and stable external environment for the modernization drive of both nations, he said.
Facing the increasingly grave and complex international situation, China and Vietnam should uphold the spirit of equality, mutual benefit, solidarity and cooperation, join hands to seek common development, and inject greater stability into a world full of challenges, Xi said.
He called on China and Vietnam, both socialist countries, to enhance the quality of joint building of the Belt and Road, strengthen the alignment of their development strategies, give play to their complementary advantages, and accelerate pragmatic cooperation in fields such as infrastructure, smart customs and green energy.
The Vietnamese prime minister said that the sustained and stable development of the Vietnam-China relationship has always been the strategic choice and top priority of the Vietnamese party and government.
Vietnam firmly pursues the one-China policy and supports China’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said.
He added that Vietnam opposes the politicization of economic issues and is willing to work closely with China to prevent and respond to various risks and challenges and avoid any forces that would divide the Vietnam-China relationship.(CHINA DAILY)
