China’s President Xi Jinping held a number of meetings today with foreign leaders who are attending the Olympics. Global Times reports the following:
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic: Xi pointed out that China and Serbia are “’iron-clad friends,’ noting the two countries share a high level of political mutual trust and that the bilateral relationship has endured many challenges and become a model for international ties.” China will continue to provide support to Serbia in its fight against the pandemic and strengthen cooperation in joint vaccine production and resumption of production, Xi said. Vucic remarked that since President Xi visited Serbia in 2016, bilateral trade has tripled and the Budapest-Belgrade railway has achieved positive results. Serbia’s economic growth rate has been among the best in Europe for years. He said Serbia would “stand firmly with the Chinese people on issues concerning China’s core interests such as matters involving Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or the island of Taiwan.”
Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov: The two agreed to speed up cooperation on the construction of the Line D of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline, which will be the fourth gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China.
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Xi said that China-Kazakhstan relations have gone beyond a bilateral scope and are of great significance to regional and world peace and stability, saying there would be “another three golden decades of China-Kazakhstan relations.” Tokayev expressed gratitude for China’s firm support of Kazakhstan’s efforts to oppose external interference in the color revolution attempt last month.
