Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Wednesday and they pledged to make joint efforts to tap the potential for bilateral cooperation and boost the partnership between the two countries.
Hailing the development of the bilateral ties, Xi said Grabar-Kitarovic's visit will instil new momentum in the China-Croatia relationship. Grabar-Kitarovic is paying a state visit to China from Tuesday to Sunday, during which she attended a high-level forum on poverty reduction and development in Beijing.
Xi said China and Croatia should view the bilateral relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective, and continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.
As Croatia is an important country along the the Belt and Road, China and Croatia should unite their development strategies, said the Chinese president, proposing they focus on cooperation on energy, transportation, industrial parks, finance, telecommunications and agriculture.
Xi also suggested closer high-level interactions and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides. Xi said he is appreciative of Croatia's commitment to the development of China-Europe cooperation and that the Chinese side will work with Croatia to enhance the strategic partnership between China and Europe.
Lauding Croatia and some other European countries' on-going efforts to relocate refugees, Xi said the Chinese government will provide more assistance for the refugees to alleviate the crisis. For her part, Grabar-Kitarovic said the Croatia-China development has developed well over the past 23 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, citing frequent high-level interactions, fruitful economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and close communication in international affairs.
Grabar-Kitarovic expressed gratitude for China's support for Croatia's development. As a member of the European Union, Croatia will work to boost the relationship between China and the bloc as well as the cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries, said the visiting president. Grabar-Kitarovic said the Croatian side appreciates China's contribution to resolving the refugee crisis in Europe.
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