Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a welcoming ceremony held by Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, June 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
China and Poland agreed on Monday to upgrade their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country.[Special coverage]
Xi and his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, made the announcement after their talks in the Presidential Palace. The two countries lifted their ties to a strategic partnership in 2011.
ALIGNING DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
During their talks, the two leaders agreed to align the two countries' development strategies and join hands to build a community of interests featuring mutual benefits and win-win cooperation.
The two leaders also agreed to promote the development of the Belt and Road, and launch at an early date some major cooperation projects with exemplary significance for early harvest.
Poland is located in the heartland of Europe, with nearly all of the regular China-Europe freight trains going through the country. With its unique location, Poland can play an important role in realizing the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to revive the ancient trade routes stretching from China to the Middle East, Africa and Europe and even beyond.
Xi urged the two countries to transform their political trust into tangible achievements of sustainable practical cooperation, hoping their cooperative projects, including China-Europe freight train service, could play a pilot role in the joint construction of the Belt and Road and enhance China-Poland inter-connectivity as well as industrial capacity cooperation.
The two countries need to deepen their cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, finance, agriculture and high-tech industries, Xi said, adding that China and Poland should also promote their people-to-people exchanges and facilitate travels between the two countries.
Duda, for his part, said Poland admires what China has accomplished in economic and social development and stands ready to deepen its cooperation with China in the areas of economy, trade, and people-to-people exchanges, and become a portal to Europe for the world's second largest economy.
Duda also pledged to support China in hosting the 18th China-EU Summit scheduled in Beijing next month.
