Xi meets PMs of Norway, Spain, discusses situations in Ukraine, Palestine

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday held separate meetings with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, reported Xinhua.

At the meeting with Gahr Store the Chinese President said that China is willing to work with Norway to promote the continuous development of friendly cooperation.

Xi asked Store to convey his greetings to King Harald V. Xi said since the two countries established diplomatic ties 70 years ago, the two peoples have respected, appreciated and learned from each other, forging a valuable friendship.

Furthering China-Norway friendly cooperation is consistent with the will of the two peoples, the fundamental interests of the two countries, and a global trend of maintaining closer ties among countries to share weal and woe, Xi said.

He noted that today's world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, which are testing whether the international community can make the right choice.

China will continue to follow the path of peaceful development. By further deepening reform in an all-round way and advancing Chinese modernization, China will inject stability and certainty into a world fraught with changes and turbulence and create more opportunities for the common development of all countries, Xi said.

Xi noted that the two countries' economies are highly complementary and have seen fruitful cooperation outcomes in various fields. He called on the two sides to expand practical cooperation in fields such as environmental protection, energy transformation, maritime affairs and shipping, agricultural and fishery products, and electric vehicles.

He also called for intensified exchanges of personnel and strengthened cooperation in such areas as education, culture, tourism and winter sports.

Xi noted that China and Norway share broad consensus on maintaining world peace and security, addressing climate change, protecting biodiversity and countering other global challenges. He said China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Norway at the United Nations and on other multilateral platforms, practice true multilateralism, and promote an equal, orderly, multipolar world and an economic globalization that benefits all. China hopes that Norway will play a positive role in promoting the sound development of relations between China and Europe, he added.

Store conveyed King Harald V's cordial greetings to President Xi. Store said that Norway respects China's sovereignty, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to continue to work with China to respect each other's core interests and major concerns.

Store said China's development is full of vitality and has significant successful experience. Norway looks forward to expanding cooperation with China, especially in such fields as green development, climate change, maritime affairs and shipping, agriculture and fishery industries, new energy vehicles and artificial intelligence, he said.

Noting that Norway supports free trade, Store said the country is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with China under multilateral frameworks such as the G20, and supports strengthened cooperation between Europe and China.

The two sides exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and other hotspot issues. Xi stressed that China encourages and supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and will continue to promote peace talks and play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement. Xi voiced the hope that all parties will work together to accumulate favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis through dialogue.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is on an official visit to China.

Xi asked Sanchez to convey his greetings to King Felipe VI. Recalling that China and Spain celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties last year, Xi said both sides have since maintained close exchanges and interactions at all levels and promoted high-quality cooperation in new areas.

Noting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said the two sides should adhere to the original intention of establishing diplomatic ties based on mutual respect and equal treatment, take a holistic and long-term view, and add new dimensions to bilateral ties.

Xi also called on both sides to build long-term and stable China-Spain relations with strategic determination, and push bilateral relations to a higher level.

Xi stressed that reform and opening up is a correct development path that China has found through long-term practice, and that it will be pursued steadfastly. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, bringing new opportunities for deepening and expanding cooperation between China and Spain, he said.

The two sides should work for mutual benefits by promoting development in high-tech fields like artificial intelligence, the digital economy and new energy, Xi said, adding that China hopes Spain will continue to provide a fair, equitable, safe and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the country.

He urged joint efforts from the two sides to stay committed to inclusiveness and mutual learning, promote friendship between the two peoples, and strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of language education, youth, culture and tourism.

As next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, China is ready to work with the bloc to review successful experience in the development of bilateral relations and further promote the relations, Xi said. "China hopes that Spain will continue to play a constructive role in this regard."

China and Spain are both countries with a sense of responsibility and mission, and both advocate multilateralism and free trade, Xi said. He noted that China is ready to expand cooperation with Spain in third-party markets in the Global South, and strengthen communication and coordination in the United Nations, the G20 and other international organizations, aiming to inject more positive energy into world peace, stability and human progress.

Sanchez conveyed cordial greetings from King Felipe VI to President Xi.

Spain and China enjoy time-honored friendship, and they have constantly developed and deepened their partnership on the basis of mutual respect, Sanchez said. During his visit, the two sides signed a number of cooperation agreements in fields such as green development, demonstrating the huge potential and bright prospects of bilateral cooperation, he said.

Spain hopes that the two countries will strengthen people-to-people exchanges and deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and new energy vehicles. Spain is willing to provide a sound environment for Chinese enterprises, Sanchez said.

He noted that both Spain and China are committed to safeguarding world peace and multilateralism, and that China is a key force for world peace and development and plays an important, constructive role in resolving major international and regional issues.

Spain views its relations with China from a strategic height, adheres firmly to the one-China policy, is willing to be a trustworthy partner of China, and looks forward to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and making greater contributions to the well-being of the two peoples, world peace and prosperity, Sanchez said.

Spain supports the principles of free trade and open markets, opposes trade wars, and is willing to continue playing a positive role in promoting the healthy development of EU-China relations, he said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the Palestine-Israel conflict.