Political Lens

Li to address opening of 7th China Intl Import Expo

Premier Li Qiang will attend the opening ceremony of the seventh China International Import Expo and related events, and will deliver a speech.

The expo is scheduled to be held in China's economic hub of Shanghai from Tuesday to Sunday.

At the invitation of Li, leaders from other countries, including Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, and Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, will attend the CIIE opening ceremony and other activities, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The CIIE, the world's first national-level import-focused exposition, has been held annually since 2018.

Senior official vows to further ties with Italy

Senior official Li Xi met with Italian leaders last week to deepen strategic ties, marking the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership and advancing cooperation in areas such as green energy and digital technology.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, met with Italy's Senate President Ignazio La Russa and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Rome during his visit from Wednesday to Saturday at the invitation of the Italian Senate.

During the meetings, Li highlighted the enduring ties between China and Italy, and called on the two sides to advance the consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in July.

Li emphasized cooperation through the "China-Italy Action Plan", which aims at enhancing political trust and collaboration in existing and emerging sectors such as green energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.

He urged the Italian side to view China-Europe economic and trade relations "with an open attitude and a long-term perspective", and play a constructive role in China-Europe consultations and negotiations.

China is willing to work together with Italy and other European countries to promote the healthy and stable development of China-Europe relations, he said.

Xinhua - China Daily