Spotlight: Xi’s Europe, LatAm trip boosts ties, steers governance on right path

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping’s latest trip to Europe and Latin America boosted China’s ties with cooperation partners and steered global economic governance on the right path, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said. Wang told reporters that Xi’s nine-day trip, which was concluded on Wednesday, also helped guide China’s relations with other major countries on a path of longterm stable development. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, Xi paid state visits to Spain, Argentina, Panama and Portugal, and attended the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit in Buenos Aires. Xi also met with leaders of other major economies, including U.S. President Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the summit.

The trip, said Wang, helped “increase stability in the international situation at a critical time, provided a sense of direction for the international system that has been undergoing profound changes, and inject positive energy into the international community troubled by worries and anxieties.”

One of the highlights of Xi’s trip was his attendance at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, 10 years after the first G20 summit was convened by the world’s major economies to jointly tackle common challenges.

At the closely-watched summit, Xi suggested the group steer the world economy responsibly, stay committed to openness and cooperation, and play a leading political role in nurturing favorable conditions for international trade and fighting climate change. On the sidelines of the summit, Xi and Trump had in-depth discussions in a friendly and candid atmosphere and charted the course for the two countries to properly resolve their existing problems and push forward bilateral relations.

Xi also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders for bilateral and multilateral talks, and attended an informal leaders’ meeting of the emerging-economy bloc of BRICS.

Thanks to China’s efforts, said Wang, the G20 summit reached consensus on major international issues and released a declaration, sending out a right, positive and stabilizing signal to the world.

Xi’s state visits to Spain and Portugal ushered in a new era in China’s bilateral ties with the two countries and infused fresh vigor into China-EU relations, said Wang.

During Xi’s visits, China and the two countries demonstrated their joint commitment to strengthening partnership and expanding cooperation in various fields.

Xi’s state visits to Argentina and Panama, Wang said, not only enriched China’s relations with the two countries but also strengthened the overall cooperation between China and Latin America. In Argentina, the two sides agreed to jointly usher in a new era of their comprehensive strategic partnership, and signed a joint action plan for the next five years and some 30 cooperation documents.

Throughout the trip, the Chinese president also made efforts to expound China’s development path and philosophy and help the rest of the world to better understand China, Wang noted. (Xinhua)