Xi Jinping Meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda

On the morning of 6 February at the Great Hall of the People, President Xi Jinping met with President Andrzej Duda of Poland who came to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 

President Xi pointed out that President Duda's visit to China to attend the "get-together for the Winter Olympics" at his invitation over five years ago has shown that China-Poland friendship can stand the test of the ever-changing international situation and embodied the two sides' commitment to the Olympic spirit. Describing his ties with President Duda as gentlemen's friendship that honors commitments, President Xi expressed readiness to work together with him to lead the sound, stable and sustained development of China-Poland relations to the benefits of the two peoples.

President Xi stressed that both China and Poland are countries that pride themselves on national independence and are committed to creating a better life for the people. This is the foundation for the steady and long-term growth of China-Poland relations, and the enduring source of vitality for cooperation. The two sides need to respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns, enhance communication on major international issues, firmly uphold the international system and basic norms governing international relations, and safeguard the common interests of the vast majority of the members of the international community. The two sides also need to seek more synergies in development strategies such as China's Belt and Road Initiative, China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) cooperation and Poland's program to boost the economy after the pandemic, and tap into their potential in areas like trade, investment, transport, logistics and high-technology, so as to bring bilateral practical cooperation to a new height. President Xi expressed China's readiness to take an active part in Poland's endeavor to build itself into a logistic hub and to support Poland's effort to become a key point in China-EU industrial and supply chains. China will further expand import of agricultural, food and other quality products from Poland and encourage more Chinese enterprises to go to Poland for investment and cooperation. President Xi expressed his confidence that Poland will provide a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises, and encouraged the two sides to explore flexible ways to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, tourism, sports and youth affairs, so as to consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries and bring the two peoples closer.

Noting the 10th anniversary of the launch of the China-CEEC cooperation and the new opportunities facing the mechanism, President Xi stressed the importance of implementing the consensus reached at the China-CEEC Summit last February. He expressed China's readiness to work with Poland to build a China-CEEC agricultural wholesale market in Poland and called on the competent authorities of the two countries to step up communication and make the wholesale market an early flagship program for China-CEEC cooperation. He also expressed the hope that Poland will continue to make active contributions to the development of China-CEEC cooperation and China-EU relations as a whole.

President Duda noted that he has always remembered the invitation for Beijing Winter Olympics that President Xi extended to him during his state visit to Poland five years ago, and that he is pleased to be able to come despite the difficulties and join the Chinese people in enjoying the grand and splendid opening ceremony and witnessing the historic moment when Beijing becomes the first city in the world to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. He stressed that recent years have seen sound development of Poland-China comprehensive strategic partnership across the board, and that his country is grateful for China's support of medical supplies in the fight against COVID-19. Noting the great importance Poland places on economic cooperation with China, President Duda expressed the hope that bilateral trade and investment cooperation with China can be further expanded to give Poland's agricultural products greater access to the Chinese market. He welcomed Chinese enterprises to Poland for investment and cooperation in areas like new energy and Poland's logistic hub development program. He also hoped to see more people-to-people exchanges between the two sides to make Poland China's gateway to Europe. President Duda emphasized that as an active participant in CEEC-China cooperation, Poland will continue to play a positive role in promoting CEEC-China cooperation and EU-China relations, and will further step up communication with China to uphold international and regional peace and stability.

Ding Xuexiang, Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the meeting.