Belgium, Uzbekistan, NZ ties hailed

President Xi urges all-round boost in bilateral relations, economic exchanges for win-win results in various fields

President Xi Jinping hailed bilateral ties and economic cooperation that China has fostered with Belgium, Uzbekistan and New Zealand as he sent congratulatory messages to their leaders in the past week.

On Oct 25, Xi and King Philippe of Belgium exchanged greetings on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, with both leaders vowing to bolster relations.

In his congratulatory message to the Belgian king, Xi commended the sound development of bilateral ties, saying that the two countries’ relations have continued to grow based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

Xi recalled that he and King Philippe decided to enhance the countries’ ties to an all-round partnership of friendship and cooperation in 2014. Bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields have delivered fruitful results since then, he said.

Xi also talked about the two countries’ mutual support and assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He considers developing relations with Belgium as greatly important, and is willing to work with King Philippe on opportunities to advance bilateral ties for new accomplishments and make new contributions to the development of China-European Union relations.

The king said in his message to Xi that the friendship between Belgium and China has brought about momentous achievements in various fields with fruitful trade and economic cooperation, as well as close subnational exchanges.

He talked about his visits to China, saying he has witnessed the rapid progress of the country and the development of bilateral ties.

Premier Li Keqiang and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also exchanged greetings for the anniversary on Oct 25.

Li said China stands ready to work with Belgium to intensify mutually beneficial cooperation.

In his message, De Croo said Belgium values the countries’ ties and is willing to strengthen dialogue with China, deepen their partnership in the fields of trade and economy as well as sustainable development.

On Oct 25, President Xi also congratulated Shavkat Mirziyoyev on his reelection as Uzbekistan’s president, vowing to further bolster bilateral ties. In a message to Mirziyoyev, Xi hailed the achievements of the Central Asian country in building a “New Uzbekistan” since Mirziyoyev took office.

Xi expressed his confidence that under Mirziyoyev’s leadership, Uzbekistan will make new achievements in national development.

Noting that he considers developing relations with Uzbekistan greatly important, Xi said that he stands ready to work with Mirziyoyev to take the opportunity of next year’s 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries to jointly write a new chapter in the development of the China-Uzbekistan comprehensive strategic partnership.

Earlier, on Oct 21, Xi sent a message to New Zealand’s GovernorGeneral Cindy Kiro to congratulate her on assuming office.

In his message, Xi pointed out that China and New Zealand are important partners in cooperation, and China-New Zealand ties have yielded remarkable progress since diplomatic relations were established 49 years ago.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, China and New Zealand have carried out productive cooperation in aspects such as epidemic prevention and control as well as economic recovery, he noted.

Xi said he attaches great importance to advancing China-New Zealand relations, and is willing to work with the new governor-general to strengthen dialogue, exchanges and cooperation based on the principle of mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Xi also underlined his commitment to promoting the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership for yielding outcomes one after another, benefiting the two countries and the two peoples.

Kiro was sworn in at New Zealand’s Parliament on Oct 21 to become the country’s 22nd governor-general — which makes her the representative of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in New Zealand.

Her appointment for a five-year term had been approved by the Queen.

Kiro is the first Maori woman to be named governor-general of New Zealand.