Chinese President Xi Jinping's Special Representative and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zheng Jianbang attended the 15th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Banjul, Gambia, said Lin Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in Beijing on Monday.
Lin briefed the media on details of Zheng's attendance to the OIC summit at a regular press briefing.
"At the invitation of Gambian President Adama Barrow, from May 4 to 5, President Xi Jinping's Special Representative and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zheng Jianbang attended the 15th Islamic Summit Conference of the OIC in Banjul, the capital of the Gambia, and read the congratulatory message from President Xi at the opening ceremony. China noted that the Final Communique adopted at the conference said the Conference welcomed the visit by a delegation from the OIC to the People's Republic of China including the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in response to an official invitation from China. It also welcomed the participation of the special representative of the Chinese President in the 15th Islamic Summit Conference and anticipates further cooperation between the OIC and the People's Republic of China. This is highly appreciated by China," Lin said.
"On May 5, President Adama Barrow met with Vice Chairman Zheng Jianbang who conveyed President Xi's warm greetings to President Barrow and congratulated the Gambia on hosting the conference. President Barrow asked Vice Chairman Zheng Jianbang to convey his hearty greetings to President Xi and sincerely thanked President Xi for sending a special representative to the conference. He stressed that the Gambia values its friendship with China, firmly supports the one-China principle, and stands ready to work with China to deepen cooperation in various fields and achieve greater progress in bilateral relations," Lin said.
"The fact that President Xi Jinping sent a special representative to the summit and that the conference adopted a Final Communique containing the aforementioned positive wording on China fully demonstrates the common aspiration of China and Islamic states to work together, carry forward traditional friendship, and advance the relations between China and Islamic states. China will continue working with Islamic states to strengthen political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, advance exchanges among civilizations, implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind," Lin said.