Xi meets Maldivian president

TIANJIN -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in the port city of Tianjin on Sunday.

Muizzu is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025, as well as commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Noting that the two countries have achieved positive progress in advancing Belt and Road cooperation, Xi said China will continue to deepen practical cooperation with the Maldives to ensure the effective implementation of the China-Maldives Free Trade Agreement and carry out cooperation in areas including fisheries, marine scientific research, environmental protection, as well as disaster prevention and reduction.

For his part, Muizzu said the Maldives is willing to work with China to expand cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, housing construction and tourism, and to strengthen coordination and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms including the SCO.

Senior Chinese officials including Cai Qi and Wang Yi attended the meeting.