Li urges efforts to defend free trade

Premier Li Qiang called on Tuesday for resolute efforts to defend free trade and true multilateralism and uphold the stability of global industrial and supply chains, reiterating China's commitment to working with various countries in the joint pursuit of modernization through pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Li made the remarks during separate meetings with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in Beijing, and with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Adylbek Aleshovich Kasymaliev and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Tianjin. The foreign leaders are set to attend the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, on Wednesday.

While meeting with Noboa, Li hailed the sound development of China-Ecuador ties, saying that China is willing to continue the traditional friendship with Ecuador, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and promote the deepening and solidification of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, in order to provide more impetus to each other's modernization efforts.

He underlined the need for both countries to strengthen alignment of development strategies, enhance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, expand bilateral trade, and deepen partnership in the fields of clean energy, infrastructure and finance, among others. China welcomes more high-quality Ecuadorian products to enter its market, he added.

Li reiterated the country's commitment to working with Ecuador and other Latin American and Caribbean countries to jointly pursue modernization, and said that China is also willing to strengthen communication and coordination with Ecuador in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, practice true multilateralism, and make positive contributions to safeguarding world peace and development.

Noboa said that China is Ecuador's second-largest trading partner, and the mutually beneficial cooperation has yielded fruitful results, significantly enhancing the well-being of the Ecuadorian people.

Ecuador highly values the comprehensive strategic partnership with China and is willing to jointly promote bilateral ties and address common challenges, he added.

During his meeting with Kasymaliev, Li said China and Kyrgyzstan are geographically adjacent and have strong complementarity in industrial development, with vast opportunities for deepening practical cooperation.

Both sides should make good use of the mechanism of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, and strive to reach high-level agreements on trade in services and investment as soon as possible, he said.

He emphasized the need for China and Kyrgyzstan to advance construction of interconnectivity projects such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway and the China-Kyrgyzstan Friendship Bridge, and create highlights of cooperation in emerging fields such as clean energy, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and cross-border e-commerce.

Li said that China is willing to enhance multilateral coordination with Kyrgyzstan, continuously strengthen the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, and promote more achievements to be delivered from cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

He also expressed China's commitment to working with the Central Asian country to oppose unilateralism and protectionism and firmly uphold free trade and the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

Kasymaliev said that Kyrgyzstan-China friendship and good-neighborly relations are at their best period in history, with fruitful results of cooperation in various fields.

Kyrgyzstan adheres to the one-China principle, firmly supports China's position on the Taiwan question and the issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong, opposes any attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of the Taiwan question, and opposes any form of "Taiwan independence", he said, reaffirming his country's commitment to jointly opposing unilateralism and protectionism.

During the meeting with the Vietnamese prime minister, Li said that given the increasing instability and uncertainties in current international situation, China and Vietnam should unite more closely and strengthen strategic communication and mutually beneficial cooperation, which is not only beneficial to both sides but also to the region and the world.

He expressed China's readiness to accelerate the alignment of development strategies with Vietnam, promote the connectivity of China-Vietnam railways, enhance market and industry integration, expand cooperation in areas such as AI, the digital economy and green development, and jointly foster and strengthen new drivers for economic growth.

China welcomes Vietnam becoming a partner country of BRICS, and is willing to work with it to jointly uphold free trade and the multilateral trading system, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalization in order to inject more stability and positive energy into world peace and development, Li said.

The Vietnamese prime minister said that his country firmly supports the three major global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping, and looks forward to strengthening multilateral coordination with China, jointly upholding multilateralism and safeguarding their common interests.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn