On January 16, 2018 local time, President Evaristo Carvalho of Sao Tome and Principe met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Presidential Palace in Sao Tome.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping’s greetings to Evaristo Carvalho, and expressed that the Chinese side appreciates Mr. President’s reiteration of the country’s firm adherence to the one-China policy. History will certainly prove that the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Sao Tome and Principe fully conforms to the interests of the two countries and the two peoples. After the resumption of its diplomatic relations with China which has a population of more than 1.3 billion, Sao Tome and Principe returned to the big family of China-Africa friendly cooperation and became a new member of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which will greatly expand the space for Sao Tome and Principe to engage in exchanges and cooperation with other countries and provide new and important platforms for the enhancement of China-Sao Tome and Principe friendly cooperation. Under the care of leaders of the two countries, both sides have comprehensively strengthened bilateral exchanges at all levels and conducted cooperation in various fields, and brought all parties together into the resumption and re-establishment of China-Sao Tome and Principe friendly cooperation over the past year, realizing the significant “early harvest”. The past 20 years were just an interlude in the long-term process of the development of China-Sao Tome and Principe relations. Both sides should have a sense of urgency and make joint efforts to make up for the lost time so that China-Sao Tome and Principe friendly cooperation could realize “curve overtaking” and form a strong momentum of development.

Evaristo Carvalho asked Wang Yi to convey his warm greetings to President Xi Jinping. Evaristo Carvalho said that the People’s Republic of China is one of the earliest countries that recognized the independence and establishment of Sao Tome and Principe, and has provided valuable support and help for its national construction. He believed that the resumption of diplomatic relations with China is one of the most correct decisions made by the government of Sao Tome and Principe. Evaristo Carvalho is pleased to see Sao Tome and Principe-China relations going smoothly on the right track. Sao Tome and Principe firmly and unwaveringly adheres to the one-China policy and expects that bilateral friendly cooperative relations could enjoy the constant development and get increasingly closer.