Chinese foreign minister meets Lao counterpart

BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday met with Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith in Beijing.

Noting that the two heads of state drew up a grand blueprint for promoting the building of a community with a shared future between China and Laos during their meeting in November last year, Qin said China is ready to work closely with Laos to turn the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries into tangible cooperation results, and support Laos in achieving stable development, improving people's livelihood and playing a more important role in the international and regional arena.

Saleumxay said that Laos attaches great importance to China-Laos relations. Laos is willing to run the Laos-China Railway well, deepen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, energy, mining and tourism, and make solid progress in building a Laos-China community with a shared future, he added.

The two sides agreed to maintain high-level visits, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, enhance personnel exchanges, promote coordinated development, continue to firmly support each other's core interests, and take the lead in implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative in bilateral cooperation.

The two sides firmly opposed interference in regional affairs by non-regional forces under the pretext of the issues of Taiwan, the South China Sea, human rights, and water resources. They also agreed to firmly uphold the centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, manage hotspot and sensitive issues properly, and promote regional unity, peace and development.