On the afternoon of November 6, President Xi Jinping met with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
President Xi noted that this year marks the 55th anniversary of China-Austria diplomatic relations. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have upheld the spirit of mutual respect, openness and inclusiveness and mutual benefit, consolidated political mutual trust, and achieved fruitful outcomes in practical cooperation, delivering tangible benefits to the two peoples. Trust and friendship are a precious feature of China-Austria relations. They have transcended differences in social systems, history, culture and development stages. The two sides should continue to deepen political trust, sustain the positive momentum of high-level exchanges, enhance trust and reduce misunderstanding through communication, and lay a solid political foundation for future cooperation. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will foster emerging industries, upgrade traditional industries, and expand opening up with a focus on the service sector. “China Opportunity 2.0” will bring not only market dividends but also innovation dividends. China is ready to expand practical cooperation with Austria in emerging areas such as new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, the digital economy and green development, and foster new engines for economic and trade growth. China-Austria friendship enjoys broad public support. The two sides should expand people-to-people exchanges, facilitate personnel flow, and bring the two peoples closer.
President Xi emphasized that the international landscape is fluid and turbulent, with unilateralism and protectionism resurging against the trend of history. China and Austria should jointly practice true multilateralism, support free trade, and contribute to building a more just and equitable global governance system. A developing and growing China is not the source of Europe’s problems, but a partner and companion that can help Europe address them. China and Europe should focus on cooperation and commit to resolving trade frictions through dialogue and negotiation, so as to achieve mutual benefit and common development.
Chancellor Stocker said that Austria-China relations enjoy sound development. Over the 55 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have always trusted and supported each other. Austria is committed to strengthening its friendly strategic partnership with China, adheres to the one-China policy, and stands ready to comprehensively strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as trade, investment, science and technology and innovation on the basis of the cooperation and trust built over the years, promote cultural, tourism and other people-to-people exchanges, and work for new progress in bilateral relations. Austria actively supports the development of EU-China relations and hopes the two sides will resolve economic and trade differences through candid dialogue and negotiation. Austria stands ready to work with China to uphold multilateralism, step up multilateral coordination, promote sustainable development, address climate change and other challenges, and safeguard the prosperity and stability of the world.
Wang Yi attended the meeting.