Chinese President Xi Jinping plays a unique and much-needed role in promoting global solidarity to solve the pressing issues facing humanity, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Beijing on Wednesday.
Petro praised Xi for actively fostering cooperation and bolstering relations between China and like-minded countries, during an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) after his meeting with the Chinese president at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday morning.
The Colombian leader was in Beijing to attend the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, which was held on Tuesday, and a top priority of his visit was to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China.
The leadership meeting yielded a major achievement when the two countries signed a cooperation plan on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), marking the South American country's formal accession to the China-proposed strategy for promoting global development.
The Colombian foreign ministry, in a social media post, hailed the move as a historic step, saying it will bring new opportunities for investment, technological cooperation and sustainable development for both Colombia and China.
Speaking with CMG, Petro recalled his past exchanges with President Xi who he said deeply impressed him, as he found in Xi a distinctive leadership style with a far-sighted global vision.
"I met President Xi twice and had exchanges with him on the occasion of different multilateral conferences. In President Xi, I always feel a unique vibe. Today, we have reached a tipping point [in history] where exceedingly superb wisdom is required from us to cope with; it indicates that the human society is entering a new stage where no country can make itself immune from the impact alone. Take greenhouse gas emissions as an example, no country can single-handedly solve the climate crisis. The inaction of countries whose interests are deeply entangled with fossil fuel energy such as oil and coal is like a metaphorical countdown dragging us into an irreversible crisis," he said.
During a time like this, Petro said, President Xi's continued efforts to rally like-minded countries to solve global issues for humanity are even more important.
Colombian president praises Xi's vision of global development
Colombian president praises Xi's vision of global development
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos in Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, on Wednesday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that during the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali held in-depth and friendly exchanges and reached new common understandings on advancing the all-weather strategic partnership.
China and Ethiopia have worked together to achieve early results in implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, helping Ethiopia accelerate its development and revitalization and also bringing more tangible benefits to the Ethiopian people, he added.
Noting that China and Ethiopia share a glorious history of resisting and overcoming foreign aggression, and now stand as important representatives of the Global South and members of BRICS, Wang said that China is ready to work with Ethiopia to enhance strategic communication, promote common development through mutually beneficial cooperation, and safeguard common interests through solidarity and coordination.
The two sides should strengthen the synergy of development strategies and explore and expand cooperation in new energy vehicles, green industries, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence, he said.
Timothewos said that Ethiopia enjoys a robust partnership with China, and that the two sides have achieved fruitful outcomes through practical cooperation, which demonstrates the solidarity and mutual trust between the two countries and sets a model for the Global South. He thanked China for its strong support on issues concerning Ethiopia's core interests and its valuable assistance to Africa's development. Ethiopia will continue to firmly uphold the one-China principle, he said.
Timothewos congratulated China on successfully launching and establishing the International Organization for Mediation, and expressed Ethiopia's readiness to strengthen cooperation with China in the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The two sides also exchanged views on enhancing coordination and cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and BRICS, and expressed readiness to jointly increase the voice and representation of the Global South and pool collective strength for common revitalization.
Chinese FM meets Ethiopian counterpart in Changsha
