A medical worker vaccinates a staff member at a temporary COVID-19 vaccination site at a company in the ZPark Phase 2 in Haidian District of Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)
BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday night that China is willing to provide COVID-19 vaccines within its capabilities to Poland in accordance with the European country's demand.
Xi made the remarks in a phone conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Pointing out that Poland is a major country in Central and Eastern Europe as well as China's comprehensive strategic partner in Europe, Xi said that China has always attached great importance to the development of China-Poland relations.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Poland have been looking out for and helping each other, with the two sides engaging in cooperation in pandemic prevention and control as well as resumption of work and production, which opened a new chapter of their friendship, he said.
In the current situation, China and Poland should strengthen strategic communication, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and jointly address various risks and challenges, Xi said.
China is willing to work with Poland to facilitate a stable and sustainable development of bilateral ties in the new year, he added.
Xi said that China is willing to continue enhancing exchanges of experience in joint pandemic prevention and control with the Polish side, and in the meantime restoring mutual visits between their peoples in a safe and orderly manner.
During the pandemic, the number and load of China-Europe freight train trips traveling to and from China and Poland have hit a record high, which reflected the high interdependence between the supply chains and industry chains in China, Poland, the wider European Union (EU), and demonstrated a huge potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, he said.
Aerial photo taken on Feb. 24, 2021 shows a crane transporting a container onto a China-Europe freight train at Changchun International Land Port in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)
China is going to push for more imports of quality agricultural and food products from Poland through establishing relevant mechanisms under the cooperation framework of China-Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), Xi said, adding that the completion of negotiations of the China-EU investment agreement will open up broader space for China-Poland cooperation.
Xi said that at the recent China-CEEC Summit successfully convened via video link, he, along with CEEC leaders, reviewed the journey of China-CEEC cooperation, thoroughly summarized development experience, jointly looked ahead to development prospects, reached broad consensus, and made important planning and guidance for cooperation mechanism.
He added that China is willing to work together with the Polish side, and takes the summit as a new starting point to push for greater outcomes for the China-CEEC cooperation and China-EU relations.
Duda said Xi's state visit to Poland in 2016 has effectively promoted the development of Poland-China relations. Not long ago, President Xi successfully hosted the China-CEEC Summit via video link, which is of great importance to promoting cooperation between the two sides and helping CEEC achieve economic recovery after the pandemic.
Airport employees unload cargoes containing medical supplies at Chopin International Airport in Warsaw, Poland on March 31, 2020. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/Xinhua)
Poland highly appreciates Xi's commitment to making China's COVID-19 vaccine as a global public good and his willingness to carry out vaccine cooperation with CEEC, which shows China is playing the role of a responsible major country under the leadership of President Xi, Duda said.
He added that Poland is willing to strengthen anti-pandemic cooperation with China, noting that China-Europe freight train service has played an important role in fighting the pandemic.
Duda expressed the hope that the two sides will continue to maintain personnel exchanges and cooperation in various fields and promote the balanced growth of bilateral trade. Poland stands ready to make contributions to the cooperation between CEEC and China, he added.
Duda said he looks forward to visiting China again after the pandemic, and is willing to maintain close and friendly exchanges with Xi to jointly lift Poland-China relations to a new level. ■
