Xi pledges to provide COVID-19 vaccines to Poland

BEIJING, March 1 (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.

File photo shows Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) holding talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 25, 2015. (File Photo: Xinhua)

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.

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.