Chinese vice president meets world leaders on sidelines of UNGA session

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Thursday respectively met with Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Han expressed China’s firm support for these countries’ development and voiced China’s willingness to enhance bilateral cooperation.

‘All-weather strategic cooperative partners’

When meeting with Kakar, Han reaffirmed the two countries’ traditional friendship and promised enhanced coordination in international affairs.

Han said China and Pakistan are neighbors, friends for generations and all-weather strategic cooperative partners.

China is willing to work with the Pakistani side to deepen strategic mutual trust, carry forward traditional friendship, deepen cooperation surrounding the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to ensure its high quality, and speed up the building of an even closer community with a shared future for China and Pakistan in the new era, Han said.

The vice president noted that China appreciates Pakistan’s zero tolerance for terrorism, and expressed hope that the Pakistani side will constantly strengthen security guarantees to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan.

The two countries should enhance coordination within institutions such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, practice genuine multilateralism, protect the common interests of the two countries and other developing countries, and safeguard regional peace, security and development, Han added.

Kakar said that Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, and their brotherhood is ironclad.

Pakistan firmly supports the series of important initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping, abides by the one-China principle, and is willing to work together with the Chinese side to continue supporting each other in terms of issues relating to their core interests and grave concerns, Kakar said.

‘Ironclad friends’

During his meeting with the Serbian President Vucic, Han reiterated the importance of mutual support between the two countries while expressing a willingness to bring bilateral ties to a new level.

China and Serbia are “ironclad friends” who have come together through thick and thin, Han stressed.

China is willing to work with the Serbian side to implement the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, firmly support each other on issues related to their respective core interests and grave concerns, Han said.

He added that China is willing to continuously deepen political mutual trust with Serbia, expand practical cooperation, and bring bilateral relations to a new level.

Vucic said that Serbia is China’s loyal and reliable friend, and firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests. The Serbian side is ready to promote practical cooperation with China in all sectors under the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, and strive for the advancement of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

‘Good brothers, good friends’

China stands ready to enhance practical cooperation with Sierra Leone in various fields and jointly promote world peace and development, Han told Sierra Leonean President Bio.

China and Sierra Leone are good brothers and good friends with sincere friendship and mutual support, and the two sides have always supported each other firmly on issues concerning the other’s core interests and major concerns, Han said.

In recent years, the two countries have enjoyed close high-level exchanges and fruitful practical cooperation in various fields, he said.

China congratulates Sierra Leone on being elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period of 2024-2025, said Han.

Sierra Leone adheres to the one-China principle, and is ready to enhance practical cooperation with China in various fields and jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries, Bio said.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: International flags are seen outside the UN headquarters in New York, September 20, 2021. /CFP)