Xi holds talks with Slovak president in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini in Beijing on Tuesday.

China stands ready to join hands with Slovakia in forging a strategic partnership that features mutual respect and trust, equality and mutual benefit, as well as stability and resilience, Xi told Pellegrini, who is on a state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday.

Xi stressed that mutual respect for each other's development paths and a firm commitment to friendship and cooperation have been the foundation for the sound and rapid growth of China-Slovakia relations. 　　 China commends Slovakia for upholding the one-China principle and will continue to work with Slovakia to accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns, he said.

He called on the two countries to tap the potential for collaboration in emerging sectors and frontier fields, including clean energy, digital economy, robotics and AI, to create new highlights in bilateral cooperation.

The two sides should broaden cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, youth and subnational exchanges, and make it easier for people to travel between the two countries, he said.

Xi said China and Slovakia should safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity. 　　 Xi pointed out that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and China-Europe relations face both new important opportunities and many challenges.

He said the key to turning challenges into opportunities lies in equal consultation and seeking common ground while reserving differences.

China has always viewed the EU as a partner and develops its ties with the EU with sincerity and goodwill, Xi said, calling on Slovakia to play a constructive role in promoting the sound and steady growth of China-EU relations. 　　 Noting that Slovakia values the strategic partnership with China, Pellegrini expressed the expectation for more outcomes in cooperation in economy and trade, AI, digital economy, robotics and new energy. He added that Slovakia welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest there.

As an EU member state, Slovakia is willing to actively promote cooperation between the EU and China and the proper settlement of differences through dialogue and consultation, said Pellegrini.

Slovakia is willing to work with China to uphold multilateralism, safeguard the purposes of the UN Charter and international law, and promote regional and world peace and stability, he said, adding that his country is willing to closely coordinate with China to strengthen global governance of AI.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a welcome ceremony for Pellegrini. A welcome banquet was also held for him around noon.

Xi holds talks with Slovak president in Beijing

In the first half of this year, the vitality of business entities in China and the high-end development of the industrial structure have been further improved, delivering solid achievements in high-quality development, an official with the State Taxation Administration (STA) said on Tuesday.

Hu Jinglin, the STA commissioner, told a press conference that the number of tax-paying business entities has increased during the period. "Tax data showed that the vitality of business entities in China has further improved from January to June. The number of active tax-paying business entities that are operating normally in China rose 20.2 percent year on year and the number of tax declaration companies gained 10 percent year on year," said Hu.

Hu noted that high-tech and digital economy industries saw a surge in sales revenue during the same period.

"The high-end development of the industrial structure has been further advanced. The sales revenue of high-tech industries and core digital economy industries increased 15 percent and 8.7 percent year on year, respectively. And their share of the total enterprise sales revenue expanded 1.7 percentage points and 1.1 percentage points year on year, respectively. At the same time, the profits of high-tech manufacturing enterprises and digital product service enterprises surged 29.2 percent and 64.4 percent year on year, respectively," said the official.

China's foreign investment inflows and foreign trade exports continued to demonstrate strong resilience in the six months, Hu added.

"The stability of [China's] opening up to the world has been further enhanced. The number of foreign-funded tax-paying entities rose 10.9 percent year on year. The total profit declared by foreign-funded enterprises increased 4.5 percent year on year. The number of export tax rebates processed by the tax authorities for enterprises gained 7.7 percent year on year. These figures indicate that China's introduction of foreign investment and foreign trade exports continue to maintain strong resilience," he said.

China's business vitality further enhanced in H1