Chinese premier meets El Salvador president

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with El Salvador's President Salvador Sanchez Ceren in Beijing on Friday, urging more efforts by the two sides to promote pragmatic cooperation and common development.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with El Salvador's President Salvador Sanchez Ceren in Beijing on November 2, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Li said that the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and El Salvador is a major event in the history of their bilateral relations and conducive to delivering benefits to the two peoples as well as expanding China's engagement with countries in Central America.

Noting that the Chinese side values El Salvador's pledge to the one-China principle, Li expressed hopes of synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative with El Salvador's development strategies, enhancing mutual political trust and expanding pragmatic cooperation, so as to advance bilateral relations in a steady manner.

The premier voiced China's willingness to jointly address global challenges, including climate change, as well as to make sustained efforts in promoting cooperation in various fields, in line with the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefits and common development.

"We encourage Chinese enterprises to make investment and start businesses in El Salvador," Li said, adding that China is ready to enhance people-to-people exchanges and encourage various sectors of the two countries to take part in promoting friendship, so as to lay a solid foundation of public support for bilateral cooperation.

For his part, Sanchez, who will attend the upcoming first China International Import Expo in Shanghai, vowed to adhere to the one-China principle and be committed to developing long-term friendly relations with China.Sanchez also expressed El Salvador's readiness to work with the Chinese side in enhancing political dialogue and friendly exchanges, jointly promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, and stepping up communication and coordination under multilateral frameworks.