The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and King Felipe VI of Spain on Wednesday in Beijing has injected fresh impetus into the development of China-Spain relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday.
Lin made the statement at a press conference in Beijing when briefing the press about the consensus reached between the two heads of state and how the two countries plan to further promote the relationship going forward.
"King Felipe VI's state visit to China coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership. President Xi Jinping met with King Felipe VI and the two reached broad consensus, injecting strong impetus into the development of China-Spain relations. Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, Zhao Leji, also met with the king respectively," Lin said.
"The two heads of state have agreed to carry forward the traditional friendship, strengthen political mutual trust, and firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns. Spain expressed firm commitment to the one-China policy and willingness to continue to be a reliable partner of China. Both countries have agreed to always uphold mutual respect and equality and work together to advance the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, which will bring greater benefits to the two peoples and make greater contributions to global peace and stability," he said.
The two heads of state have agreed to further advance practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges and build a more strategically resilient and dynamic comprehensive strategic partnership with greater international influence, according to Lin.
"Over the past two decades, China and Spain have witnessed increasingly close cooperation, with bilateral trade volume growing nearly fourfold. This demonstrates the strong internal dynamism driving the development of bilateral relations. Both sides have agreed to strengthen alignment of their development strategies, expand cooperation in trade, investment, and science and technology, explore the potential of cooperation in such emerging areas as new energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and cultivate more highlights and new drivers of growth in their practical cooperation. During the king's visit, the two sides signed ten cooperation documents spanning trade and economy, science and technology, education, and other areas," he said.
"The two heads of state have agreed that China and Spain share highly similar philosophies on many international affair, both support multilateralism and the settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, and both support the UN in playing a central role in international affairs. Spain highly appreciates the four major global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping and is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination with China to jointly safeguard the international economic and trade order, promote steady development of the world economy, and respond to uncertainties in the international landscape," said the spokesman.
Meeting between Xi, Spanish king injects fresh impetus into development of China-Spain ties: spokesman
