KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Monday that China is ready to join Kuwait in continuing to push for the steady development of bilateral ties.

Li made the remarks during his meeting with Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, crown prince of Kuwait, on the sidelines of the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council)-China Summit.

Bilateral relations between China and Kuwait have maintained steady and sound development since its establishment over half a century ago, Li said.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, China-Kuwait relations have witnessed rapid progress and fruitful results in practical cooperation, Li said.

China, Li said, is ready to work with Kuwait to consolidate political mutual trust and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to continue to push for in-depth and substantive development of bilateral relations.

Li pointed out that China and Kuwait enjoy strong economic complementarity and broad prospects for cooperation.

China stands ready to work with Kuwait to strengthen the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Kuwait Vision 2035, expanding the scope of cooperation and accelerating the implementation of major cooperative projects, Li said.

China is willing to deepen cooperation with Kuwait in such fields as energy, investment, green economy, digital economy and artificial intelligence, so as to open up new space for win-win cooperation and contribute to each other's development and revitalization, Li said.

Li called on the two sides to enhance cooperation in education and tourism, further facilitate personnel exchanges and foster deeper friendship between the two peoples.

Against a turbulent international landscape marked by rising unilateralism and protectionism, Li said, China is committed to strengthening communication and coordination with Kuwait through such multilateral platforms as the United Nations, China-GCC, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia to push for more just and equitable global governance and promote harmony, stability and prosperity for the whole world.

For his part, Al-Sabah said that Kuwait and China enjoy a profound traditional friendship, noting that under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, Kuwait-China relations have shown a good momentum of development.

The Kuwaiti side thanks China for supporting Kuwait in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said, adding that Kuwait firmly adheres to the one-China principle and supports China's position on issues concerning its core interests.

The Kuwaiti side attaches great importance to developing relations with China, and is willing to work with China to actively implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, tap the potential for cooperation, expand areas of cooperation, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, he said.

Kuwait is also ready to work with China to promote cooperation between the GCC and China, enhance communication and coordination on regional and multilateral affairs, so as to push bilateral relations to a higher level, he added.

The Chinese premier arrived in Kuala Lumpur earlier Monday to attend the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit.