Premier Li calls on China, Estonia to expand cooperation, boost ties

China stands ready to develop relations and carry out cooperation with Estonia on the basis of mutual respect, equality, inclusiveness and mutual learning, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in Tianjin Wednesday.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid in Tianjin on September 19, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Li made the remarks while meeting with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, who is to attend the Summer Davos Forum annual meeting.

Li congratulated Estonia on its 100th anniversary of their declaration of independence and said a sustained, healthy and stable development of bilateral relations is in line with the interests of the two peoples.

He suggested the two sides strengthen synergy of development strategies, give full play to the 16+1 cooperation platform and Estonia's geographical advantages to carry out cooperation in fields of interconnection, oil and gas and timber processing.

Li encouraged companies from the two countries to cooperate in e-commerce, make joint efforts in building platforms that facilitate enterprise production and consumer consumption, and deepen cooperation on education, tourism and more high-quality people-to-people exchanges.

For her part, Kaljulaid applauded the stable development of bilateral relations and close communication of the two countries.

She said Estonia is ready to work with China to enhance energy, timber, agriculture and traffic infrastructure cooperation and deepen cooperation under the framework of the 16+1 cooperation, and facilitate regional interconnectivity.

She expressed willingness to promote people-to-people exchanges with China, noting Estonian people nowadays are more and more interested in Chinese culture.