BEIJING: President Xi Jinping and visiting Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi made joint pledges on Friday to foster an even closer bilateral strategic partnership. The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation on investment, green development, education and the digital economy.
Xi rolled out the red carpet for Santokhi, who is making a week-long state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, in a pomp-filled ceremony that included a guard of honor and a 21-gun salute.
“China is willing to work with Suriname to further consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen economic and trade cooperation, expand people-to-people exchanges, enhance international collaboration, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-Suriname relations,” Xi told his guest.
The two heads of state also witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation documents. Xi underlined Beijing’s readiness to welcome the import of more high-quality products from Suriname.
He told his guest that the nation stands ready to deepen cooperation with Suriname on jointly building the Belt and Road and expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture, energy and mining.
He noted that Suriname is one of the countries in the Caribbean with the largest overseas Chinese community and is the first in the Western Hemisphere to designate the Chinese Spring Festival as an official holiday. Both sides should continue to encourage cultural exchanges, facilitate people-to-people exchanges and jointly develop Confucius Institutes, Xi said.
He also highlighted the need to bolster subnational cooperation to keep enriching bilateral exchanges and cooperation.
China stands ready to work with developing nations like Suriname to strengthen multilateral coordination, solidarity and cooperation, safeguard common interests and achieve common development, the president added.
Xi reiterated China’s emphasis on developing ties with Caribbean countries, saying that the nation supports countries in the region in seeking prosperity and development and enhancing public wellbeing, and it makes continuous steps to offer aid to the best of its capacity. Santokhi, who is visiting China for the first time since taking office in 2020, lauded the major significance of the initiatives proposed by the Chinese president on upholding multilateralism and promoting global peace and sustainable development. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
