Xi meets Dominican PM

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit in Beijing on Monday.

Noting that Dominica is an important country in the Caribbean, as well as a trustworthy good friend and partner of China in the region, Xi said the two countries have always respected each other and treated each other as equals since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago.

With increasing political mutual trust, vigorous exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and deepening friendship between the two peoples, China-Dominica relations have become a good example of South-South cooperation, he added.

China highly appreciates Dominica's steadfast friendship, Xi said. China is willing to work with Dominica to synergize their development strategies, and turn the friendly relations into a driving force for win-win cooperation to achieve more results and deliver more benefits to the two peoples, he said.

Xi stressed that the key to the sound development of China-Dominica relations lies in the high level of political mutual trust, as well as mutual understanding and support on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. China firmly supports the people of Dominica in following a development path suited to its national conditions, and stands ready to bolster friendly exchanges and strengthen sharing of experience on governance with the Dominican side, he added.

China welcomes the Dominican side to board the "express train" of Chinese modernization to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and economy, infrastructure construction, agriculture, health care and other fields, Xi said, noting that China will continue to provide assistance within its capacity for Dominica's economic and social development.

China is willing to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges with the Dominican side, welcomes more Dominican students to study in China, and will continue to provide scholarships and training programs, Xi said.

He added the two sides should jointly develop the Confucius Classroom at the Dominica State College, and explore more cooperation in vocational and technical training in Dominica.