On the afternoon of March 3, at the Great Hall of the People, President Xi Jinping met with three foreign leaders in succession - Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Why did these foreign leaders choose this time to come to Beijing? What did President Xi focus on in his meetings with them? What kind of message did the intensive meeting releas? "Current Political News Eye" interprets it for you.
01
The same "look in"
These three foreign leaders from the Eurasian continent have a common trajectory when they come to China this time: first to Boao, then to Beijing.
The day before the meeting, on the morning of March 3, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attended the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia 30 Annual Conference and delivered speeches. All three of them attended the annual meeting for an official visit to China.
△Great Hall of the People, Beijing. On the same day, three meetings were held here. (Photo by CCTV reporter Zhong Xinwei)
The three foreign leaders that President Xi met this time are both old friends of China and new faces on their first visit.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is one of the most visited foreign leaders, and this is his second visit to China in four years. In the past four years, there has been a lot of interaction: since the outbreak of the epidemic, President Xi Jinping has spoken to him on the phone twice; During the APEC meeting in Bangkok last November, President Xi Jinping held an in-person meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Video: Xi Jinping: China and Singapore are important partners Setting benchmarks for regional countries Source: CCTV News Client
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's ancestral home is Dapu County, Meizhou, Guangdong, and he speaks fluent Hakka. During his visit to China, Premier Lee Hsien Loong arranged a six-day itinerary covering Guangdong, Hainan and Beijing. In an exclusive interview with the main station on the eve of his visit to China, he said that Singapore attaches great importance to trade relations with China.
Prime Minister Alexis Sánchez and Prime Minister Anwar both visited China for the first time since taking office.
Sanchez became Spain's prime minister in 2018. During the G11 summit in Bali last November, President Xi met with Prime Minister Alexis Sanchez.
Video: Xi Jinping meets with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez: China's modernization provides more cooperation opportunities for the development of all countries in the worldSource: CCTV News Client
During the meeting more than four months ago, Prime Minister Sanchez said that China has always been a stabilizing force in the international order. A week ago, at a press conference after attending a meeting of the European Council, he said, "China is a global player, so obviously we have to listen to China." ”
Last November, Anwar became Prime Minister of Malaysia. More than four months later, he began his first visit to China, which was also his first meeting with President Xi.
Video: Xi Jinping: Outline Mu Zhang Coordinate and promote the development of China-Malaysia relations and cooperation in various fieldsSource: CCTV News Client
Prime Minister Anwar said, "I am visiting China as a true friend of China and with sincere friendship with China. "After taking office, he made it clear that upgrading bilateral relations with China is a priority for Malaysia and that he will not allow the relationship to remain the status quo.
02
"Big Events"
This year, China, Spain and Malaysia are commemorating "big events" in their relations.
China and Spain established diplomatic relations in March 1973, marking the 3th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. When President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Sanchez in November last year, he spoke of "the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations with mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit." During this meeting, he stressed the need to "build a bilateral relationship with strategic concentration."
Video: Xi Jinping meets with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez Source: Xinhuanet
When President Xi visited Malaysia in October 2013, the leaders of the two countries decided to upgrade the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Malta. Malaysia is the first ASEAN country to establish diplomatic relations with China and will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year.
During this visit to China, China-Malaysia relations and China-New Zealand relations ushered in new "major events".
During the meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar, President Xi said, "During your visit, the two sides reached a consensus on jointly building a China-Maldives community with a shared future, which will surely open a new historical chapter in bilateral relations." ”
Video: Xi Jinping meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Source: Xinhuanet
During President Xi's visit to Singapore in November 2015, the leaders of the two countries agreed to define the relationship as an all-round partnership that keeps pace with the times.
During Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to China, the two countries upgraded China-Singapore relations into an all-round and high-quality forward-looking partnership, which pointed out the direction for the future development of bilateral relations. President Xi stressed that China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Singapore, deepen strategic docking, and effectively make "high quality" the most distinctive symbol of China-Singapore cooperation.
Video: Xi Jinping meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien LoongSource: Xinhuanet
Commemorating the "major events" of the past means not forgetting the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations and continuing to move forward. The "big event" during this visit is to further improve the quality and upgrade and promote greater development.
03
The "big picture" that goes beyond the bilateral scope
From the perspective of geographical location, of the three foreign leaders who visited China this time, two are from Asia and one is from Europe. From the perspective of regional organizations, Malaysia and Singapore are ASEAN countries, and Spain is an EU country. From July this year, Spain will assume the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Whether it is China-Spain relations, China-Malaysia relations, and China-New Zealand relations, they all have strategic significance beyond the bilateral scope. During this meeting, President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the three countries talked about broader topics in addition to the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. 、
△ The national flags of China and Spain at the meeting. (Photo by CCTV reporter Zhong Xinwei)
"Strategic autonomy" is one of the key words.
When meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, President Xi said that to develop China-EU relations, the EU side needs to adhere to strategic autonomy. It is hoped that Spain will play an active role in promoting China-EU dialogue and cooperation.
Sanchez said that the current world is full of uncertainties, and only through cooperation can we more effectively respond to various challenges and promote world peace and development. The West will work to promote dialogue and cooperation between the EU and China.
△ The national flags of China and Malaysia at the meeting scene. (Photo by CCTV reporter Li Zheng)
When meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President Xi Jinping expressed China's proposition of adhering to strategic autonomy, resolutely resisting the Cold War mentality and camp confrontation, and working together to build a common home.
Anwar said that the Malaysian side opposes camp confrontation and forced to choose sides. As an independent force, ASEAN will play a positive role in avoiding the escalation of regional tensions.
Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore advocates mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, mutually beneficial cooperation, avoiding conflicts and jointly coping with risks and challenges. Even if there is competition, it must be based on mutual respect and trust, and cannot choose sides in black and white.
△ Meeting the national flags of China and Singapore at the scene. (Photo by CCTV reporter Li Zheng)
"Constructive role" is also one of the key words.
During the meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, the two sides exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Sanchez said that Spain positively evaluates China's position paper on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and appreciates China's constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar said during the meeting that China's recent success in promoting the Shah-Iraq dialogue in Beijing once again demonstrates China's constructive role in promoting peace.
Whoever has always firmly stood on the side of peace, on the side of dialogue, on the right side of history, justice is at ease in the hearts of the people.
△ Meeting the scene, flowers bloomed. (Photographed by CCTV reporter Zhao Hua)
The year begins in spring. In March this year, from attending the high-level dialogue between the Communist Party of China and world political parties and delivering a keynote speech, to a state visit to Russia in Moscow, to meeting with the first batch of foreign leaders who paid official visits to China after the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress (NPC), a series of diplomatic activities by the heads of state demonstrated China's efforts to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and inject more certainty into this uncertain world.
Executive Producer丨Shen Yong Gong Xuehui
Main writer丨Liu Ruilin
Reporter丨Li Zheng, Yu Zhenyi, Zhong Xinwei, Zhao Hua, Xu Yongsong, Lu Hongyu
Vision丨Chen Kuo Zhang Jing
Editor丨Wang Zun
(CCTV News Client)