VALLETTA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Malta is keen on nourishing the healthy, strong and mutually beneficial relationship with China, with special emphasis on people-to-people links, President George Vella said on Friday.
Addressing a reception to mark the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Vella said that more than 50 years into diplomatic relations between the two countries, the ties were becoming "more dynamic and forward-looking."
"Despite the distance that separates our two countries, Malta and China have managed to build a close historical relationship that includes cooperation mostly in the fields of trade, health, education and culture. Suffice to say that China is one of Malta's most important trading partners," he said.
"(But) any relationship between two countries cannot be viewed purely in economic terms. I place particular emphasis on the importance of sustaining and expanding our people-to-people links as a means of nourishing a healthy, strong, and mutually beneficial relationship," he added.
Vella said that 30 years since China dispatched its first medical team to Malta, cooperation in the health sector has become an important contributing factor in the strengthening of people-to-people contacts. Education and student exchanges have also played an important role in developing and strengthening the connection, he said.
Cultural relations were "vibrant," bringing both countries closer together and allowing its people to acquire a better understanding of their respective world views and perspectives, he added.
Vella said the European Union (EU) and China also had a "shared interest" in pursuing constructive relations. "I believe that EU-China engagement is crucial to tackling issues of common concern, including issues related to climate change and environmental degradation, health and pandemic preparedness, food security and humanitarian assistance," he said.
Peng Yijun, Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Malta, spoke about how China moved from poverty and weakness to prosperity and strength under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, performing "the two miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability."
In the first half of this year, despite the complex environment of world economic fluctuations and downturns, China's economy grew by 5.5 percent, ranking among the top of the world's major economies.
"We have full confidence and the ability to achieve the steady growth of the Chinese economy on the track of high-quality development in a long time to come," he said.
Peng said that this year marked the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2022, China's trade in goods with Belt and Road countries doubled from 1.04 trillion U.S. dollars in 2013 to 2.07 trillion U.S. dollars. Two-way investment exceeded 270 billion U.S. dollars and more than 400,000 jobs have been created.
"Looking into the future, China is willing to work with all countries in the world, including Malta, to continue to contribute to promoting world peace, development and win-win cooperation," he said.
On Sino-Malta relations, Peng said the two countries had always respected and treated each other as equals and sincerely.
"Our two countries are good friends of political mutual trust and good partners of pragmatic cooperation, which has set an example of friendly cooperation between countries different in sizes, social systems, histories and cultures," he said.
