China, Laos pledge to strengthen strategic communication, mutually beneficial cooperation

China and Laos expressed here Sunday the willingness to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and actively promote the building of the China-Laos community with a shared future.

While meeting with Lao Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith on the sidelines of the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Myanmar, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the building of the China-Laos community with a shared future has been making significant progress, with bilateral trade climbing against the odds, and the China-Laos Railway running efficiently.

China and Laos should further strengthen strategic communication, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly face challenges, and safeguard international equity and justice, so as to promote further development of the building of the China-Laos community with a shared future, he said.

For his part, Saleumxay said currently the Laos-China relationship enjoys strong momentum, with the construction of the Laos-China Railway completed on time, and its successful running has fully demonstrated the great value and achievement of the Belt and Road Initiative, helping Laos to transform from a land-locked country to a land-linked one and bringing real benefits to the Lao people.

Laos holds high expectations for the future of the Laos-China community with a shared future, and hopes to make strategic alignment of development plans with the Chinese side and speed up the implementation of a series of bilateral cooperative agreements, he noted.

The two sides agreed to give full play to the radiation effect of the China-Laos Railway, explore connection among the logistics chain, value chain and production chain along the railway, achieve high quality connectivity and push for third-party market cooperation.

The two sides agreed to work together to resist cold war mentality and zero-sum game, oppose double standard wantonly pursued by some countries, and reject interference in and sabotage of exchanges and cooperation among countries.

Wang noted that China is ready to join hands with all countries to staunchly pursue the true security which is common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable, consistently seek the true development which is balanced, coordinated, beneficial and win-win, and firmly safeguard the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and the true order which is based on international law.