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Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong Meets with Ambassador of Timor-Leste to China Abrao Dos Santos

2021-10-20 17:59

On October 20, 2021,  Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu  Jinsong met with Ambassador of Timor-Leste to China Abrao Dos Santos. The two  sides exchanged views on China-Timor-Leste relations and international and  regional issues of common concern.

Liu Jinsong said that China and  Timor-Leste have always been good friends who support each other and treat each  other with sincerity. As early as the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century,  the two countries had trade exchanges. Chinese ancient books record these  friendly exchanges in detail. Timor-Leste's "lignaloes" has long enjoyed a great  reputation among the Chinese people. During Chinese Navigator Zheng He's seven  voyages in the Ming Dynasty, he visited Timor with his fleet. When Timor-Leste  became independent in 2002, China was the first country to recognize and  establish diplomatic ties with Timor-Leste. Since the establishment of  diplomatic ties, the two countries have carried forward their traditional  friendship and conducted extensive cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture,  education, peacekeeping and other fields, providing strong support for the  development of Timor-Leste. After the outbreak of COVID-19, China was the first  to offer assistance to Timor-Leste, and has continued to provide assistance to  Timor-Leste within its capacity. In the first eight months of 2021, bilateral  trade grew by 40 percent against the trend.

Liu Jinsong said that 2022 marks  the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and  Timor-Leste. China is willing to continue strengthening high-level exchanges and  deepening development cooperation with Timor-Leste, in particular, giving full  play to the benefits of major cooperation projects within the framework of the  Belt and Road Initiative. China is ready to meet Timor-Leste's demand for  diversified economic development, increase development assistance to Timor-Leste  with the focus on key areas such as medical care, agriculture and education, and  expand the pool of bilateral cooperation projects. We also welcome Timor-Leste  to continue participating in the Forum Macao, creating more opportunities for  Timor-Leste's economic development and China-Timor-Leste cooperation.

Santos said, the friendly  exchanges between Timor-Leste and China have been going on for a thousand years.  What you said is not only a new chapter of the bilateral friendship, but also a  long story of friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China has  provided generous assistance for Timor-Leste's development. In the area of  agriculture, China has carried out technical cooperation on hybrid rice in  Timor-Leste since 2008, which has greatly helped Timor-Leste increase its grain  production and economic development. On behalf of the Timor-Leste's government  and people, I would like to express our deep condolences on the death of  Academician Yuan Longping, China's "father of hybrid rice". He and many other  friendly Chinese people will always be remembered for their positive  contributions to Timor-Leste's development.

Santos said that I have visited  nine Chinese provinces and cities in the past one and a half years since I took  office and I deeply appreciate the people-centered governance philosophy of the  Communist Party of China and the Chinese government. I deeply admire China's  tremendous achievements in development, especially the great achievement of  lifting China out of absolute poverty. What is more commendable is that China is  actively leading regional and global development while pursuing its own  development. I realize that one of the purposes of the Belt and Road Initiative  is to achieve common development and common prosperity so that no one will be  left behind. This is really amazing. Timor-Leste appreciates China's selfless  assistance in its fight against the pandemic and stands ready to work with China  to deepen practical cooperation in various fields and jointly push for greater  development of Timor-Leste-China comprehensive cooperative partnership of  good-neighborliness, friendship, mutual trust and mutual benefit.



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