President Xi expects more Belt and Road cooperation with Spain

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping said Saturday that China and Spain should carry out practical cooperation in various fields to produce win-win outcomes and mutual benefits under the Belt and Road Initiative.

With its special geographic advantage, Spain can play an important role in Belt and Road construction, Xi said when meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is in Beijing to attend the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which opens Sunday.

The China-Europe freight train from Yiwu City in east China's Zhejiang province to Madrid is an important bridge of Eurasian connectivity and one of the first outcomes of the Belt and Road, said Xi.

In recent years, bilateral practical cooperation has deepened and expanded and faces broad prospects, he said.

Both sides should dovetail their development strategies and explore the potential for cooperation in fields such as agriculture, bio-medicine, aviation and aerospace, said Xi.

"China firmly supports the integration of Europe and hopes Spain will play an active role in the European Union and make a contribution to the long-term, sound and stable development of China-Europe ties," said Xi.

Rajoy said Spain-China relations maintain good momentum with close high-level exchanges and fruitful economic and trade cooperation.

Spain highly appreciates the Belt and Road Initiative, said Rajoy. The initiative will have an important impact on the regional economy and cultural exchanges along the routes and provide more room for bilateral cooperation, he said.

Spain is willing to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges with China, and push for deeper Europe-China relations, Rajoy added.

Premier Li Keqiang also met with Rajoy on Saturday, urging joint efforts to boost two-way trade and investment and promote a balanced trade growth.

Both sides should jointly maintain liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, said Li.

Rajoy said Spain expects both countries to promote trade and investment growth and oppose trade protectionism.