Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), held talks with President of the National Council of Austria Walter Rosenkranz in Beijing on Monday.
Zhao said Chinese President Xi Jinping and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen jointly established the China-Austria friendly strategic partnership in 2018, ushering in a new stage of bilateral relations.
Noting that this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Austria, Zhao said the Chinese side stands ready to work together with Austria to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and constantly enrich the China-Austria friendly strategic partnership.
Zhao called on both sides to further consolidate political mutual trust, sustain the sound momentum of high-level exchanges, enhance policy communication, and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns.
The two countries should expand economic and trade cooperation and strengthen collaboration in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy, and the two sides should boost people-to-people and cultural exchanges to cement the public foundation of bilateral relations, and deepen multilateral coordination and cooperation in international affairs, he said.
Zhao said that China is willing to properly resolve differences and frictions in economic and trade cooperation with the European Union through dialogue and consultation, so as to achieve a dynamic balance in the course of development.
The NPC of China stands ready to deepen dialogue and exchanges with the Austrian National Council, candidly exchange views on issues of shared interest, enhance mutual understanding, and provide legal guarantees for practical bilateral cooperation, Zhao noted.
He introduced China's AI development and governance and expressed the willingness to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and legislative experience sharing with Austria, so as to jointly seize the opportunities and handle the challenges brought by the development of artificial intelligence.
Rosenkranz, for his part, reaffirmed Austria's adherence to the one-China policy.
He noted that the delegation accompanying him on this visit to China comprises members from the five major political parties of the Austrian National Council, and that deepening cooperation with China represents a consensus across the Austrian political spectrum.
The Austrian National Council stands ready to strengthen friendly exchanges with the NPC of China, and promote cooperation between Austria and China in areas such as economy, trade, science and technology, and people-to-people and cultural engagement, he said.
In international affairs, China is a stable cooperation partner, Rosenkranz said, adding that Austria is willing to make positive efforts to advance the development of EU-China relations and strengthen cooperation with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations.
China's top legislator holds talks with Austrian parliament president
