BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China is ready to work with Poland to take bilateral relations to a higher level of development to inject more stability and certainty into a world in turmoil.
Xi made the pledge during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is on a five-day state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
“Today, changes in the world, in our times and in history are unfolding in ways like never before,” Xi told Duda. “China is willing to work with Poland to adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, stay true to the original mission of establishing diplomatic relations, and carry forward the traditional friendship.”
The two leaders’ meeting came following Xi’s state visit to Poland in 2016, when the two countries agreed to upgrade their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and Duda’s trip to Beijing for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Steady growth of China-Poland ties
Poland was among the first countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China, and this year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Seventy-five years on, China-Poland relations have seen steady development, Xi said.
The key reason why the ties have been able to weather the storms is that both sides have been able to draw wisdom and strength from the historical and cultural traditions of their nations and remain independent in developing bilateral friendly relations, the Chinese president stressed.
Xi urged both sides to continue to adhere to the core of the China-Poland friendship, which is mutual respect, equal treatment, mutually-beneficial cooperation, and exchanges and mutual understanding.
China and Poland should understand and support each other’s efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and jointly oppose the Cold War mentality and camp confrontation, he said.
The two countries should also safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, and push for the building of an equal, orderly and multi-polar world and of a universal and inclusive economic globalization, he added.
Xi said China and Poland should make most of the China-Poland Intergovernmental Committee and other platforms and mechanisms to strengthen strategic coordination and overall planning in various fields.
The two sides should also jointly work on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, advance cooperation in major projects such as the China-Europe Railway Express, and strengthen cooperation in trade, agriculture, digital economy, green industry and clean energy, he said.
China welcomes more quality Polish agricultural products and food to enter the Chinese market, supports the expansion of two-way investment, and hopes that Poland will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.
Xi also announced that China has decided to implement a 15-day unilateral visa-free policy for Polish citizens.
China is ready to work with Poland and other countries to promote the sustainable development of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) cooperation mechanism and the sound and stable development of China-Europe relations, he said.
For his part, Duda spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by the Chinese president, saying that it means huge development opportunities for Poland, and has boosted Poland’s infrastructure construction and economic development.
Poland is ready to continue the BRI cooperation with China, deepen exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture, infrastructure, interconnectivity and people-to-people exchanges, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as innovation, digital economy and new energy vehicles, he said.
Poland welcomes more Chinese businesses to invest in the country, said Duda.
He said the Polish side appreciates China’s profound history and culture, and speaks highly of Chinese philosophy in dealing with international affairs and its contribution to world peace and development.
Poland firmly adheres to the one-China principle, said Duda.
The Polish president said his country is ready to work closely with China in multilateral communication and collaboration to promote the further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership and make contributions to world peace and stability.
Noting that Poland will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) in the first half of next year, Duda said Poland is ready to play a constructive role in promoting the development of EU-China relations and will continue to promote cooperation between the CEECs and China.
After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in economy, trade, agriculture and other areas.
The two sides also issued an action plan to strengthen the China-Poland comprehensive strategic partnership in the next four years.
On Ukraine crisis
During Monday’s talks, the two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis.
Xi stressed that China’s position on the crisis is to promote peace talks to secure a political solution.
The Chinese president urged efforts to prevent the conflict from intensifying, de-escalate the situation, and create conditions for peace talks. “This serves the interests of the international community, including Europe,” he said.
China opposes the attempts by some to shift the focus and discredit China on the pretext of normal trade between China and Russia, said Xi.
He said China encourages and supports all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis, and promotes the building of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture.
China is ready to continue to play its own constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, said Xi.
