Chinese premier meets Colombian president

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with visiting Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez on Wednesday.

Calling Colombia an important cooperation partner of China in Latin America, Li said the two countries have witnessed healthy and stable development of bilateral ties since they established diplomatic relations 39 years ago.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with visiting Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez on July 31, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua]

The increasingly strengthened pragmatic cooperation has benefited people of both sides, Li said, adding that China will continue to consolidate mutual political trust with Colombia, speed up alignment of development strategies and boost cooperation in various fields, so as to elevate bilateral ties to new heights.

Both China and Colombia are committed to safeguarding free trade, and China, instead of purposely seeking a trade surplus, has always conducted fair, transparent and mutually beneficial cooperation based on market and commercial rules, Li stressed.

Li promised China stands ready to expand two-way investment with Colombia and will provide a better business environment for enterprises of both sides.

China will import more competitive and high-quality products from Colombia and promote a more balanced trade structure between the two countries, Li added.

The Chinese premier also voiced willingness to support Colombia's economic progress and domestic peace process.

For Duque's part, he hailed his country's smooth relations with China which have produced fruitful cooperation results, and appreciated the great achievements made in the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Saying Colombia sticks to the one-China principle, he expressed his expectation that the two sides will facilitate exchanges at all levels and push for better development of bilateral relations.