Xi sees important role for Poland
Print Edition
PRESIDENT Xi Jinping said yesterday that he sees an important role for Poland as China looks to increase commercial ties with Europe.
Xi was speaking during a visit to Warsaw intended to boost Chinese investment in infrastructure and energy and open up the Chinese market to Polish food producers.
Poland has been China’s largest partner in central and eastern Europe, with trade worth tens of billions of euros. But Poland is chiefly an importer and it is hoping to boost its economy by increasing exports, mainly of farm products.
“I am convinced that Poland can continue to have a very important role in building ties between China and Europe,” Xi told a news conference. “There is a very high convergence between China’s initiative (to develop European ties) and Poland’s development plan.”
Both sides agreed to upgrade their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Xi and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda made the announcement after talks at the presidential palace. The countries established a strategic partnership in 2011.
Xi said he was hoping that cooperative projects, including a China-Europe freight train service, could play a leading role in the joint construction of the Belt and Road initiative while enhancing China-Poland inter-connectivity as well as cooperation in production capacity.
Duda said Poland is willing to work more closely with China on areas of economy and commerce, people to people exchanges, and to become a portal to Europe for the world’s second largest economy.
Some 40 deals and memorandums of understanding were signed yesterday, mostly related to construction, raw materials, energy, new technologies, finance and science.
Xi urged Poland to “fully take advantage of its position as a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank” to do business.
Launched by China in January, the AIIB includes several European countries among its members.
Calling the AIIB the “world’s largest investment fund,” Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s deputy prime minister, told reporters that Warsaw was discussing “massive investments” with Beijing. “It is certainly still too early to say we’ve reached some kind of conclusion,” he said, revealing only that “multi-billion sums” were involved.
“I hope that for China, Poland will become a gateway to Europe,” Duda said, noting that Poland’s largest port in Gdansk had the potential to handle large volumes of goods.
Duda’s adviser, Krzysztof Szczerski, said Poland wants to have a role in upgrading and creating new land and sea transport links between China and the European Union.
Xi and Duda were due to attend the arrival of a China Railway Express cargo train in Warsaw, in a symbolic opening of a land connection between China and Europe.
They were also to attend an economic forum and meet Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and parliament speakers.
Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived from Serbia late on Sunday. Poland is the second leg of a three-nation Eurasia tour. Today, they will travel to Uzbekistan.
The last visit to Poland by a Chinese president was in 2004, by Hu Jintao.
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