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China and the Maldives are Partners of Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect and Mutual Assistance

--Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong Meets with Ambassador of Maldives to China Aishath Azeema

2022-06-28 17:35

On June 27, 2022, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong met with Ambassador of Maldives to China Ms. Aishath Azeema. The two sides had a friendly and in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

Liu Jinsong said that China and the Maldives enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges. The ancient Maritime Silk Road has long linked the two peoples. Over 600 years ago, Zheng He, a Chinese navigator in the Ming Dynasty, visited the Maldives twice with his fleet, and the King of the Maldives sent emissaries to China on many occasions. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Maldives in 1972, bilateral exchanges and cooperation have been deepened and substantiated with a strong momentum of development. China is ready to work with the Maldives to take the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties to deepen the future-oriented comprehensive friendly cooperative partnership between China and the Maldives, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and implement the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative.

Azeema made positive comments on bilateral relations and thanked China for its great contribution to the Maldives' economic and social development, infrastructure construction and pandemic response, saying that the Maldives and China are sincere partners of mutual assistance. The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, social housing and other China-aided projects have demonstrated the deep friendship of the Chinese people towards the Maldivian people and set milestones for bilateral relations. The sound relations and strong mutual trust between the Maldives and China are rooted in the time-honored traditional friendship and adherence to the principles of sovereign equality and mutual respect. The Maldives firmly pursues the one-China principle and will continue to firmly support China's efforts to safeguard its core interests.

Liu Jinsong said that at the recent G7 Summit, some countries proposed the "Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment" (PGII) as an alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. More investment and financing in infrastructure are welcome; the more the better. Positive efforts of all parties can complement each other. However, there is no vision or sense in claiming to "replace" others' good things and thereby resorting to vicious competition, slander and blocking. In fact, they can't make it. Certain country has also launched "Blue Dot Network", "Build Back Better World" and "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework", all of which present "three formats". The first one is the administrative format, which is issued by the administrative department, but is hard to be approved by Congress and is hardly sustainable. The second one is the "cartoon format", that is, there are more Barmecide feasts, frames and promises. It is questionable how much money can be offered and whether it can be implemented. The third one is the "unilateral format", that is, it serves a country's unilateral needs, especially the needs of geopolitical strategy, and is based on the country's standards, rules and values rather than equality and mutual benefit.

Liu Jinsong said that as a Maldivian proverb says, "The robber's closet is tightly closed." Scheming people always make malicious guesses about others. They are trying to hide their conspiracies from the public. The U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy", which prioritizes itself over other countries, security over the economy, exclusiveness over inclusiveness, and words over actions, is unlikely to bring benefits to countries in the region. Asian and developing countries should work together to prevent the development agenda from being marginalized, regional cooperation from being politicized and ideologized, and multilateral initiatives and regional cooperation mechanisms from being fragmented and being used as tools to create camps. China and the Maldives are partners of mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual assistance. He hopes and believes that the Maldives will guard against the Cold War mentality and unilateralism and safeguard the common interests of China, the Maldives and other developing countries.

Azeema said, maintaining regional peace and stability serves the interests of small- and medium-sized countries. China-Maldives friendship should not be interfered with by any third party. The Maldives will remain vigilant against the geopolitical plots of relevant countries. The Maldives appreciates President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and stands ready to work with China to jointly safeguard regional peace and development.

Liu Jinsong presented Azeema with President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the Opening Ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, and his remarks at the 14th BRICS Summit and the High-level Dialogue on Global Development as well as the Global Development Report in English. Azeema attaches importance to and appreciates that.

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