Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday lauded the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), calling on relevant countries to keep up the momentum and work together for a new chapter in China-CEEC cooperation.
“China-CEEC cooperation is part and parcel of China-EU relations, whose good progress means new opportunities for China-CEEC cooperation,” said Xi while delivering a keynote speech at the China-CEEC Summit via video link.
In 2020, overall China-EU relations made new progress despite the challenges caused by the pandemic. The two sides concluded schedule negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and signed a geographical indications agreement. They also launched partnerships for green and digital cooperation.
“The two sides also stood firm for multilateralism and took on global challenges together,” Xi said.
“Today, trade between China and CEE countries is nearly 85 percent bigger than nine years ago,” Xi noted, adding that the China-Europe Railway Express has reached most of the CEE countries, running more than 30,000 freight services so far.
The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism came into being in 2012 against the backdrop of the European debt crisis.
“Impressive progress has been made in several cooperation projects, including the Port of Piraeus in Greece, the Smederevo Steel Plant in Serbia, and the Peljesac Bridge in Croatia,” said Xi.
China-CEEC cooperation is based on mutual respect and has no political strings attached, Xi stressed. He added that all countries involved, regardless of their size, are equal partners in a cooperation mechanism featuring extensive consultation, joint contributions, and shared benefits.
Xi lauded the progress jointly made by China and CEE countries in the Belt and Road cooperation. He said that in an innovative and pioneering spirit, China and CEE countries took steps early to explore the possibility of aligning cross-regional cooperation with Belt and Road cooperation. It makes Central and Eastern Europe the first region where all countries have signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation.
“We need to tackle COVID-19 head-on and boost confidence in cooperation to tide over the tough times,” Xi said, adding China will work with CEE countries through solidarity, coordination, and cooperation to complete the pressing task of pandemic responses.
China has also been fostering a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.
“This will unlock the full potential of China’s vast market and domestic demand generated by the 1.4 billion population, including the over 400 million Chinese in the middle-income group. It will thus boost global demand and create more opportunities for the rest of the world,” Xi said.
The Chinese president vowed to take a more active role in bilateral, multilateral, and regional cooperation that delivers higher levels of mutual benefit for all.
“We also welcome the participation of other countries and international organizations in our cooperation to achieve win-win results,” said Xi.
Source : Xinhua
