Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Al Said of Oman, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Monday.
Noting that China and Oman share a time-honored friendship, Li said Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Sultan Haitham to make a new plan for further deepening the strategic partnership between China and Oman.
China is willing to work with Oman to carry forward traditional friendship, firmly support each other, expand cooperation in energy, economy, trade, culture and other fields, promote early conclusion of the negotiations on the China-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Free Trade Agreement, and achieve mutually-beneficial cooperation at a higher level, Li said.
The situation in the Middle East has recently experienced repeated turbulence. Guided by the major initiatives and proposals put forward by Xi, China stands ready to make unremitting efforts toward early restoration of peace and tranquility in the Middle East and the Gulf region, Li said.
Sultan Haitham said China has made remarkable achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. He said that the Omani side deeply admire this and looks forward to deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields between the two countries and opening up broader prospects for the strategic partnership between Oman and China.
Chinese premier meets Sultan of Oman
Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed efforts to continuously improve protection and coordination to make the Yellow River more beautiful.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement in a recent instruction on further advancing the protection and governance of the Yellow River.
Xi emphasized that solid efforts must be made to promote ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, carry forward the Yellow River culture, and ensure that this mother river delivers sustainable benefits to the Chinese nation and future generations.
Xi's instruction was conveyed at a work conference on comprehensively advancing the protection and governance of the Yellow River, held on Monday in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended and addressed the conference. He called for joint efforts to advance greater protection and coordinated governance of the Yellow River, ensure the river is well managed, and enhance the conservation and intensive utilization of water resources.
The conference briefed the participants on the achievements in Yellow River governance over the past 80 years under the leadership of the CPC.
Thanks to 80 years of conservation efforts, the river, once prone to devastating floods, heavy sedimentation and shifting channels, now has cleaner waters and more sustainable water use.
The Yellow River, China's second-longest river, flows 5,464 km through nine of the 31 provincial-level regions, crossing deserts and loess lands, before emptying into the Bohai Sea in Shandong Province in east China.
Xi stresses improving protection, coordination to make Yellow River more beautiful
