Premier to attend closing ceremony of Winter Asiad, meet foreign leaders

Premier Li Qiang will attend the closing ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Friday, and will hold a welcoming banquet and bilateral events for foreign leaders attending the Games.

Li will meet separately with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene in Harbin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference on Thursday.

The seven-day visit by the Cook Islands prime minister, which began on Monday, also took him to Shanghai and Shandong province, Guo said.

Describing the Cook Islands as a cooperative partner of China in the South Pacific, the spokesman said the two countries have always respected each other, treated each other equally, and developed together since the establishment of diplomatic ties 28 years ago.

The two countries upgraded the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2018.

The friendly cooperation between the two sides has solid popular support and brings tangible benefits to both peoples, Guo said, expressing the hope that the two sides will jointly promote bilateral relations to achieve new progress.

In another development, Guo expressed the belief that the three-day visit to China by Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene, which began on Thursday, will further deepen political mutual trust, enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership and contribute to the building of a community of shared future between the two countries.

Calling China and Mongolia friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, Guo said the current relationship is maintaining sound development momentum.

The close high-level exchanges, as well as deepened friendly interactions and mutually beneficial cooperation, have brought benefits to the two peoples, he said.

China has been Mongolia's largest trading partner and investor for many years. Data from the Mongolian Customs General Administration shows that trade volume between the two nations reached $19.047 billion in 2024, up 8.5 percent year-on-year.