Xi Meets European Leaders on Advancing Ties, Global Governance

Xi Meets European Leaders on Advancing Ties， Global Governance

Chinese President Xi Jinping， French President Emmanuel Macron， German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker met in Paris on March 26 and agreed to strengthen China-European Union （EU） relations and global governance cooperation.

The leaders met in the French capital on the sidelines of a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France.

China and Europe are two major forces in the world， and are important participants in and constructors of the economic globalization process， Xi said， adding that they share broad common interests.

The Chinese president indicated that the two sides should together uphold multilateralism， urging China and Europe to protect the status and authority of the United Nations （UN） and the international system with the UN at its core.

Xi proposed that China and Europe work to facilitate development and prosperity on the Eurasian continent， and improve strategic mutual trust.

Speaking of their meeting， Macron said it has sent a positive signal to the international community that the EU and China firmly uphold multilateralism.

France and the EU are willing to further enhance mutual trust with China， and together shoulder the historic responsibility of promoting world peace， security， and development， he said.

Merkel indicated that Germany attaches importance to Chinas key role in international affairs， highly appreciates Chinas support for Europes prosperity， and is willing to work with China to advance the process of multilateralism.

Juncker said the EU and China， as cooperation partners， could do great things together for the world. The EU stands ready to accelerate cooperation with China and play a positive role in jointly addressing global challenges， he added.

Premier Lis European Tour Promotes Chinas Cooperation with European Countries

From April 8 to 12， Premier Li Keqiang traveled to Brussels， Belgium for the 21st China-EU Leaders Meeting and to Croatia for an official visit and the 8th Summit of Central and Eastern European Countries （CEEC） and China.

Li co-chaired the China-EU leaders meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on April 9. A joint statement was released after the meeting.

Both sides pledged to build their economic relationship on openness， non-discrimination， and fair competition， ensuring a level playing field and transparency.

“China and the EU commit to ensure equitable and mutually beneficial cooperation in bilateral trade and investment，” the statement said， reiterating the two sides willingness to enhance bilateral economic cooperation， trade， and investment， and to provide each other with broader and more facilitated， non-discriminatory market access.

On April 12， Li attended the 8th China-CEEC Summit in Dubrovnik with leaders of the CEECs.

In his speech， Li Keqiang put forward proposals on furthering China-CEEC cooperation， touching on such aspects as jointly upholding the multilateral trading system， further expanding China-CEEC trade volume， promoting cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative， stepping up efforts to expand innovation cooperation， advancing cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） and on industrial park construction， and deepening people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation.

Leaders of the CEECs noted that all sides are ready to take this summit as an opportunity to fully support the implementation of CEEC-China cooperation projects， further promote connectivity and infrastructure construction， actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative， continuously expand trade volume， jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade， and increase exchanges in fields across the board.

China Sees Great Potential in Closer Cooperation with World Bank

China is willing to deepen its cooperation with the World Bank on lending programs and knowledge sharing， Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said in a meeting with World Bank President David Malpass.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 99th Meeting of the Development Committee launched by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on April 12 and 13 in Washington， DC.

China expects to work with the World Bank on improving the innovativeness of lending programs and added value， Liu said.

In addition， China also looks forward to cooperating with the World Bank in areas such as improving the business environment and establishing a high-standard multilateral financing cooperation center， the minister said.

Malpass said the World Bank and China share a great responsibility in combating poverty and spurring global development， noting Chinas achievements in alleviating poverty， the experience of which is worth sharing.

The World Bank， Malpass said， is also willing to work with China on pollution prevention and control， green development， as well as coping with climate change.