Xi Jinping “highly praises adherence to one China principle”
China and the Central American country Nicaragua upgraded their relationship to ‘strategic partners’ two years after resuming diplomatic relations.
According to China’s Xinhua News Agency on the 20th, Chinese President Xi Jinping said this in a phone call with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to commemorate the second anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations.
“We are willing to take the announcement of our strategic partnership as a new starting point and work together to develop our relationship and build a model of solidarity, cooperation and mutual benefit,” Xi said.
He said that since the resumption of diplomatic relations, both sides have urgently pursued the rapid development of relations, and that positive progress has been made by firmly supporting each other’s core interests and issues of major concern and comprehensively expanding practical cooperation.
In particular, he said, “We highly value Nicaragua’s adherence to the ‘one China’ principle and its open support on many occasions for protecting China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and added, “We are ready to become a trustworthy friend of Nicaragua, and Nicaragua will avoid external interference.” “I also support refusing to do so,” he emphasized.
“We are ready to share experiences in areas such as governance and poverty eradication,” he said. “We presented eight major measures at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum, and we welcome Nicaragua’s active synergy in this regard.”
He also said that the free trade agreement between China and Nicaragua is scheduled to take effect on the 1st of next month, and that this should be used as an opportunity to continuously increase the scale of trade between the two countries.
President Ortega said, “China has contributed greatly to promoting world peace, especially sharing development achievements with people in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and improving their welfare, giving hope and strength to the world.”
They also expressed condolences about the earthquake in Gansu Province, China.
China resumed diplomatic relations with Nicaragua in 2021 after it severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Nicaragua emerged as a new investment destination for China after President Ortega received sanctions from Western countries along with criticism of human rights violations.
The Ortega government declared anti-government protests illegal in 2018 and began a bloody crackdown, imprisoning dozens of opposition figures on charges of promoting a coup, drawing criticism from the international community and human rights groups.
Source: Donga
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