After the current panda family returns home, China will send another pair of young giant pandas to Spain, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a joint press conference after meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Álvarez in Cordoba on Sunday. Announced.
At the press conference, Wang mentioned how a Spanish singer’s nursery rhyme about giant pandas has influenced generations of children in Spain.
“Pandas are messengers of friendship between the two peoples,” he said, and China will continue to maintain the more than 40-year-old bond between the two countries over pandas.
The senior Chinese diplomat will begin his visit to Spain after attending the 60th Munich Security Conference in Germany, with France being the last stop on his European tour.
Currently, China is Spain’s largest trading partner outside the European Union, while Spain is China’s fifth largest trading partner within the EU.
During the meeting, the two foreign ministers reached agreement on issues such as visas and trade facilitation. Madrid highly praised the Chinese government for granting visa-free access to Spanish nationals and for demonstrating trust and friendship towards Madrid.
Wang said Madrid will “actively work to simplify the procedures for Chinese tourists to travel to Spain.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the two sides agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in fields such as telecommunications, medicine, electric vehicles and green energy.
Wang told reporters that the two countries will expand new areas of cooperation such as the digital economy, “provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for each other’s enterprises” and further enhance the quality and resilience of the two-way relationship. He said he is motivated to improve. investment.
China has announced that it will lift restrictions on exports of boneless beef from Spain to Spain that are less than 30 months old.
Last year, annual bilateral trade in primary products exceeded $50 billion for the first time.
Alvarez said the country is ready to activate bilateral cooperation mechanisms and deepen substantive cooperation with China.
The two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year, and next year will mark the 20th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership.
Alvarez said that Spain has consistently pursued the “one China” policy and intends to maintain high-level exchanges, further activate bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and deepen practical cooperation. .
Defining Spain as a power with “great international and regional influence,” Wang said China wants to work with Madrid to bring bilateral relations to the forefront of Sino-European relations.
China appreciated the contribution made by Spain, which holds the EU Presidency, in the second half of last year in promoting contacts and cooperation between China and the EU.
Wang said China “hopes and believes that Spain will continue to play an active role in the EU” and that the two countries will work together to tackle global challenges such as climate change, food security and public health. He stated that he intends to promote joint efforts.