Chinese premier holds talks with Dominican PM

Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds a welcome ceremony for Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, March 25, 2024. Li held talks with Skerrit, who is on an official visit to China, in Beijing on Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit in Beijing on Monday.

Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Dominica, Li said the two sides have been treating each other with mutual respect and equality over the past 20 years.

Bilateral ties have made substantial progress and seen fruitful cooperation in various fields, setting a good example for countries of different sizes to achieve mutual benefits, he said.

Li said China is ready to work with Dominica to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen political mutual trust further, and push for the new and greater development of bilateral relations and cooperation.

Li said China has always supported Dominica in safeguarding its national sovereignty and independence, and in following a development path suited to its national conditions. China is willing to enhance cooperation with Dominica continuously in areas such as infrastructure construction, agriculture and trade under the framework of the joint construction of the Belt and Road, Li said. It is also ready to develop new highlights in cooperation on new energy and the digital and blue economies, help Dominica improve its disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, and share more development opportunities, he added.

He noted that China supports its enterprises in investing and doing business in Dominica, and it also welcomes Dominica and other Caribbean countries to actively participate in the fourth China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum to open broader prospects for China-Dominica economic and trade cooperation.

For his part, Skerrit said that Dominica and China have always respected each other, cooperated closely, forged a profound friendship and set a good example for the Latin America-China friendship. Dominica abides firmly by the one-China principle, and resolutely opposes the interference of any country in China's internal affairs and the infringement of any country on China's sovereignty.

Skerrit said China is committed to safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, and noted that the global initiatives proposed by China are receiving more and more support from the international community. Dominica is willing to strengthen communication with China further, increase personnel exchanges, expand cooperation, work together to deal with climate change, and promote the construction of a Dominica-China community with a shared future.

After their talks, Li and Skerrit witnessed the signature of a number of bilateral cooperation documents on the joint construction of the Belt and Road, agriculture, green development, infrastructure construction and the implementation of the Global Development Initiative.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds talks with Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]