Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a group photo with President of the Republic of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi and his wife Mellisa Santokhi-Seenacherry prior to the talks between Xi and Santokhi in Beijing, capital of China, April 12, 2024. Xi held talks with Santokhi, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President of the Republic of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi in Beijing on Friday.

Noting that the China-Suriname friendship has a long history and has stood the test of time, Xi said Suriname was one of the first Caribbean countries to establish diplomatic ties with China, establish a strategic partnership with China and sign the Belt and Road cooperation plan with China.

The two countries have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, becoming a model of South-South cooperation, he said, adding that China is willing to work with Suriname to further consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen economic and trade cooperation, expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, step up international coordination, and push for a closer China-Suriname strategic cooperative partnership to better benefit the two peoples.

Xi stressed that China highly appreciates Suriname's friendship and its firm support for China on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. He added that China also firmly supports Suriname in safeguarding its national sovereignty and independence and independently choosing a development path suited to its national conditions.

China is willing to continue to understand and support each other with Suriname, maintain high-level exchanges, increase friendly exchanges between various departments, legislative bodies and political parties, and enhance the exchange of experience in governance, according to Xi.

"China welcomes more high-quality and distinctive Surinamese products to enter the Chinese market, and stands ready to deepen cooperation with Suriname on joint Belt and Road construction, enhance synergy of development strategies, and expand cooperation on trade, investment, agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure construction and digital economy to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples," Xi said.

Noting that Suriname is one of the countries with the largest number of overseas Chinese in the Caribbean and the first country in the Western Hemisphere to mark the Chinese New Year as an official holiday, Xi said the two sides should continue to encourage cultural and people-to-people exchanges, facilitate personnel exchanges, and jointly build Confucius Institutes.

The two countries should strengthen sub-national cooperation and constantly enrich the content of bilateral exchanges and cooperation, he added.

Xi said China is ready to work with Suriname and other developing countries to strengthen multilateral coordination, solidarity and cooperation, safeguard common interests, achieve common development and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

China attaches importance to developing relations with Caribbean countries, supports Caribbean countries in seeking prosperity and development and improving people's well-being, and stands ready to continue to provide assistance within its capacity for the economic and social development of countries in the region, Xi said.

Noting that the friendly exchanges between the two countries enjoy a long history, Santokhi, for his part, complimented the important contributions made by the Chinese community in Suriname to the development of the country.

He said that since the two countries established diplomatic ties 48 years ago, the Surinamese side has always firmly adhered to the one-China principle, and will continue to support China unswervingly in its endeavor to achieve national reunification.

Santokhi expressed Suriname's appreciation for the assistance provided by the Chinese side to its economic and social development, saying that the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, health, infrastructure and other fields reflects the high-level political mutual trust and brotherly friendship, improved Suriname's economy and people's livelihoods, setting a good example of South-South cooperation.

Suriname supports the important initiatives proposed by China, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, which are of great significance in upholding multilateralism and promoting world peace and sustainable development, and stands ready to advance coordination with China to jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Santokhi said.

He said that Suriname expects to improve exchanges between the political parties of the two countries, expand cooperation in fields such as trade, economy and investment, green development and climate change, and advance the Suriname-China strategic cooperative partnership, and is willing to contribute to Caribbean-China relations.

The two heads of state witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents on economy, trade, investment, green development, digital economy, education and other fields. The two sides also issued a joint press communique.