Expectations run high for President Xi’s Eastern European and Central Asian trip

Source:People’s Daily Published: 2016/6/16 21:11:56

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to kick off a new round of diplomatic trips to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan on Friday. Political heavyweights and experts on international relations between the four countries have high expectations for these upcoming visits. During his stay in Uzbekistan, Xi will also attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tashkent. 

Serbia, the first Central and Eastern European state to establish a strategic partnership with China, has been scheduled as Xi's first stop. With increasing political trust and collaboration between the two nations, Sino-Serbian ties look set for further development. 

Hailing Xi's visit as "historic," Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said that the tour will "send an important message to the world that China attaches great importance to its friendship with Serbia." Last September, the Serbian president attended China's V-Day military commemoration parade.

Poland is also looking forward to Xi's visit. 

"Gaining China's support and developing relations with China will surely open another door for Poland's foreign affairs," said Professor Waldemar J .Dziak, head of the Asian and Pacific Department of the Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Zdzislaw Goralczyk, honorary president of the Polish-Chinese Friendship Association, told the People's Daily that he was very excited upon learning of Xi's forthcoming trip to Poland. 

"It will open a new chapter in Poland-China ties. Perpetual friendship between the peoples of Poland and China is a long-standing aspiration of mine," he noted. 

Uzbekistan, a country along the ancient Silk Road, will be Xi's third stop on his Eurasian trip. After upgrading their relations to a strategic partnership in 2012, China and Uzbekistan have witnessed a great leap forward in bilateral relations.

Davolone, a worker on the Qamchiq tunnel project, which is a part of the Angren-Pap Railway Tunnel Project contracted by the China Railway Tunnel Group, said that Xi's visit is sure to usher in more cooperation between the two countries in various areas. 

"I hope I can continue to work with my Chinese friends to build my hometown into a better place," he told the People's Daily. 

With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on Strengthening Confidence in Military Areas in Border Regions by the "Shanghai Five" nations, the SCO Summit has been seen as serving as a link between past and future. 

Uzbek President Islam Karimov said he looks forward to President Xi's appearance at the SCO summit and that Uzbekistan stands ready to make new progress together with China.

Posted in: Politics, Diplomacy

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