In the afternoon of July 9, 2014, Premier Li Keqiang met at the Great Hall of the People with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta, who was in China for the attendance of the Eco-Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2014.

Li Keqiang said that enjoying traditional friendship, China and Malta have understood and closely cooperated with each other in bilateral and international affairs, which is a model for the harmonious coexistence between countries with different sizes, population, cultures, civilizations and social systems. China attaches importance to developing its relations with Malta, and is willing to work with Malta to effectively implement the medium-term governmental cooperation outline between the two sides, injecting new vitality and connotation to China-Malta relations.

Li Keqiang noted that situated in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Malta boasts geographical advantages in radiating the areas along the Mediterranean Sea. China-Malta cooperation enjoys a high complementarity and promising potential. China stands ready to deepen cooperation in economy and trade, energy, infrastructure construction, ocean, tourism and other fields. He hopes that as a good friend and good partner of China in the European Union (EU), Malta will continue playing a positive role in promoting the development of China-EU relations.

Joseph Muscat said that the Malta-China relations, built on the basis of mutual understanding and mutual respect, have achieved great progress in recent years. Malta is willing to take the signing of the medium-term governmental cooperation outline between the two sides as opportunity to expand the mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and to give the geographical advantages of Malta into full play, so as to push forward the EU-China cooperation for more results.

After the meeting, the Chinese Premier and Maltese Prime Minister jointly witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Medium-term Plan of the Governmental Cooperation between China and Malta from 2014 to 2019.