China, Antigua and Barbuda vow to expand mutual cooperation

ANKARA

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne and said Wednesday that China will work with the Caribbean country to “intensify” exchanges and exchange experience in state governance.

During the meeting at the Great Hall in Beijing, Xi said Beijing will also strengthen the alignment of development strategies and deepen practical cooperation, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.

Xi emphasized that the two countries should continue their “traditional friendship, consolidate political mutual trust, and continue to understand and support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns.”

Antigua and Barbuda is the first country in the Eastern Caribbean to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to build the "Belt and Road" with China.

Browne said Beijing’s “help and cooperation have greatly promoted the development of Antigua and Barbuda and helped us get rid of poverty.”

He said his country “firmly believes that Taiwan has been, is, and will be a province of China.”

Antigua and Barbuda will continue to abide by the one-China principle and firmly support China in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also attended the meeting.