Xi to attend G20 summit in Buenos Aires
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visits to Spain, Argentina, Panama and Portugal will intensify respective bilateral ties and G20 cooperation, senior Chinese officials said.
Xi will pay state visits to the four countries from tomorrow to December 5, and attend the 13th Group of 20 summit on Friday and Saturday in Buenos Aires.
During his state visit to Spain from tomorrow to Thursday, Xi is scheduled to meet with Spanish King Felipe VI, hold talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, collectively meet with President of the Senate Pio Garcia Escudero and President of the Parliament Ana Pastor Julian, and address the two houses, said Vice Foreign Minister Wang Chao.
China and Spain will publish a joint statement and sign documents on their cooperation in the third-party markets, service trade, taxation, culture, science and technology, and finance, according to Wang.
During Xi’s state visit to Portugal, scheduled for December 4 and 5, he will hold talks with his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and meet with President of the Parliament Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues and Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Wang said.
The two sides are expected to publish a joint statement and sign documents to boost cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, culture, education, science and technology, water conservancy, quality inspection, energy and finance.
Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Xi’s state visits to Argentina and Panama will take place on December 2 and 3.
Hailing the rapid development of China-Argentina relations, Qin said the two countries have set a good example of common development among emerging economies and developing countries.
Xi will hold talks with Argentine President Mauricio Macri to facilitate bilateral ties, Qin said, adding that the two heads of state will also have an in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues.
The two sides are scheduled to publish a joint statement, and sign a joint action plan for the two governments in the next five years and cooperation documents on economy, trade, finance and public security, according to Qin.
Xi’s state visit to Panama is aimed at enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries’ people, and speeding up mutually beneficial cooperation to consolidate the foundation for long-term development of bilateral ties, Qin said.
China and Panama forged diplomatic relations last year based on the one-China principle.
Saying Panama is a new partner of China in the Latin American region, Qin stressed that bilateral ties have started strong, featuring rapid progress and high efficiency.
“During the one and half years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have witnessed cooperation outcomes on trade, investment, maritime affairs, finance, infrastructure and human resources,” Qin said.
Xi will hold talks with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela to exchange views on issues of common concern and map out future cooperation, Qin said.
The two sides will sign cooperation documents on e-commerce, service trade, infrastructure, economic and trade exhibition, maritime transport, financing, quality inspection, culture and education, Qin added.
It is the sixth time that Xi will be attending or presiding over at the G20 summit, which shows China attaches great importance to the G20 mechanism and has a strong will to contribute to the improvement of global economic governance, Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun said.
The summit will include three sessions and a closed-door meeting, where topics on world economy, trade and investment, digital economy, sustainable development, infrastructure and climate change will be discussed, according to Zhang.
Xi will expound on China’s position on these issues and exchange views with other leaders. He will also attend an informal meeting of leaders of BRICS countries.
Zhang emphasized that the upcoming summit, themed “building consensus for fair and sustainable development,” is conducive to gathering efforts to oppose protectionism, support multilateral trading regime, and push forward the construction of an open world economy.
As an important G20 member, China has played a constructive role in facilitating consensus on issues of common concern, such as responding to opportunities and challenges brought by the technological revolution, and forging ahead infrastructure financing and taxation on the digital economy, Vice Minister of Finance Zou Jiayi said.