Relations upgrade a sign of solid progress

China and Poland are set to upgrade their strategic partnership to a comprehensive level on Monday during President Xi Jinping's visit to this fast-developing country, a senior Chinese diplomat said.

The scaling-up of relations, five years after the Sino-Polish strategic partnership was established, comes after Poland has adjusted its foreign policy to engage with all global players, instead of mainly just the West.

"Our bilateral relations have made tremendous, solid progress on all fronts, and we will recognize such harvests during Xi's visit," Xu Jian, the Chinese ambassador to Poland, said in an exclusive interview on Friday.

Xu, previously the ambassador to Romania, said the burgeoning partnership between China and Central and Eastern Europe is also the reason behind the repositioning of China-Poland relations.

The Chinese president arrived in Poland on Sunday after a three-day state visit to Serbia, which lies at the crossroads between Central and Southeast Europe.

The ambassador said both sides are expected to sign dozens of agreements on Monday to boost cooperation in politics, economy, trade, high-tech and people-to-people exchanges.

"I think our relationship is already at a level of comprehensive strategic partnership," said Xu, adding that the leaders of both nations are expected to endorse such a partnership in a political document to be signed on Monday.

In recent years, especially since the 2008 financial crisis, countries in Central and Eastern Europe have started to readjust their foreign policies after years of closely engaging with the West, while China's economic dynamics and large market have become magnets to bring them closer.

Contact the writers at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn and liwensha@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/20/2016 page3)