President meets with foreign leaders
Editor's Note: President Xi Jinping held several bilateral talks on Tuesday with foreign leaders attending the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, which opens in Beijing on Wednesday. The following are highlights of their meetings.
Sri Lanka
China will support Sri Lanka in its fight against terrorism and help the country to improve its capacity building in this regard, President Xi Jinping said while meeting with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
Xi said China strongly condemns the series of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka last month, and is ready to stand firmly with its government and people in safeguarding national security and stability.
China and Sri Lanka are good neighbors and good partners, and China is willing to keep moving forward with their strategic cooperative partnership, which features sincere mutual trust and long-standing friendship, he said.
He called upon both sides to maintain frequent high-level exchanges and offer steadfast support to each other.
The joint building of the Belt and Road and cooperation in major programs should be pushed forward in a concrete manner, he said, adding that programs that benefit the Sri Lankan people should also be accelerated.
He also urged both sides to deepen cooperation in security and law enforcement, and jointly cope with nontraditional security threats.
Xi also expressed his hope that Sri Lanka can make good use of the platform of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to showcase the country's Buddhist civilization and diversified culture.
Sirisena offered his condolences with regard to the Chinese citizens who died from the terrorist attack last month, as well as his appreciation of China's firm support for Sri Lanka's counterterrorism efforts.
Sri Lanka has always prioritized the development of bilateral relation, and is willing to step up Belt and Road cooperation with China, he said.
Cambodia
The relationship between China and Cambodia has demonstrated to the world the genuine friendship between the two countries and the two peoples, Xi said.
Xi said China values the special friendship with the Cambodian royal family. He called on the two countries to continue the friendship forged and cultivated by Chinese leaders of the older generation and Cambodian King Father Norodom Sihanouk.
China will, as always, support Cambodia in pursuing the development path that suits its national conditions, and stands ready to work with it to take the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new stage, Xi said.
King Sihamoni congratulated China on its great achievements over the past 70 years, and he appreciated its significant role in international affairs.
Saying Cambodia firmly supports the Belt and Road Initiative, King Sihamoni stated that the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations that Xi initiated will play a significant role in helping to enhance cultural exchanges and mutual understanding among countries across the world.
Singapore
China and Singapore should promote unity among Asian countries and use the opportunity of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to jointly build a more beautiful Asia, President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob.
Xi noted that the two countries offer development opportunities to each other, and have long marched forward together with highly integrated interests.
He urged both sides to maintain the tradition of high-level exchanges and ensure the strategic guidance of bilateral relations.
The joint building of the Belt and Road is an inclusive and friendly process, and it is also the biggest opportunity for the growth of bilateral relations, he said.
The two sides should make good use of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor as well as cooperation in third-party markets, he said.
He also appealed to the Singaporean side to firmly support economic globalization and multilateralism, adding that the friendship between the two countries will become stronger in the process of building a multipolar world.
The Singaporean president said China's hosting of the conference comes at an opportune time and will help various sides to explore how to better benefit the peoples of the world.
She added that Singapore has supported the BRI since its launch, and it is willing to deepen cooperation in business, trade and people-to-people exchanges to benefit the two peoples.
Armenia
China and Armenia should promote mutual learning from their respective civilizations to provide strong support for their time-honored friendship and the joint building of the Belt and Road, President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Xi noted that both countries are ancient civilizations with a long history, and the friendship and cooperation between the two peoples, which dates back to the ancient Silk Road, continues to this day.
He called on both sides to inject new impetus into regional development and cooperation, and continue to offer support to each other on issues related to their respective core interests and major concerns.
China is ready to explore cooperation potential with Armenia, and enable more concrete outcomes to be generated from areas such as trade, investment, mineral exploitation, renewable energy and infrastructure construction, he said.
The two sides should seek closer people-to-people exchanges, bolster cooperation in counterterrorism and law enforcement, and jointly combat the "three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism", he added.
Pashinyan noted that China and Armenia are ancient civilizations and the two nations have boosted their close trade and cultural relations throughout history.
Armenia attaches strategic importance to relations with China and is willing to actively participate in the joint building of the Belt and Road, he said, adding that the country is committed to resolutely combating terrorist forces.
(China Daily Global 05/15/2019 page4)
