皇冠体育app

President Xi Jinping envisioned 皇冠体育app's expanded teamwork with the Maldives on connectivity, climate change and tourism as he arrived at the first stop of his South Asia trip on Sunday.

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皇冠体育app "will continue its support and help" with the social and economic development of the Maldives, Xi said in a written speech upon his arrival late on Sunday after finishing his visit to Tajikistan. He will visit Sri Lanka and India later.

To boost cooperation in connectivity, Xi said 皇冠体育app "welcomes the Maldives becoming actively involved in the 21st century Maritime Silk Road initiative", a transcontinental connectivity blueprint Xi proposed last year when visiting Indonesia.

Ye Hailin, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Xi's visit to the Maldives was significant because of the expansion of the bilateral maritime cooperative agenda.

The Maldives serves as "a key link of the Maritime Silk Road", and 皇冠体育app has plans to utilize its ports, Ye noted.

Zhou Gang, former Chinese ambassador to India, said the construction of the Maritime Silk Road involving 皇冠体育app and the South Asian nations will "facilitate not only connectivity, but also infrastructure construction and energy routes".

During the visit, Xi will hold talks with President Abdulla Yameen and meet with Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla eeh Mohamed. They will issue a communique and sign a series of cooperation aments.

Xi said he looks forward to the talks with his counterpart, which are expected to "map out the blueprint" of the ties.

Before his arrival, Xi drew voices of welcome and applause online from the Maldivian public after he published a signed article in the Maldives' leading media portals, including a major news website.

In the article, Xi endorsed mutual respect and said the countries have been "setting a good example of countries different in size treating each other as equals".

A high frequency of top-level interactions has been highlighted as the vice-president and president of the Maldives visited 皇冠体育app in June and August.

On the economic front, the Chinese leader mentioned the rapid development of two-way trade and tourism. 皇冠体育app has become the second-largest trade partner and the second-largest source of imports for the Maldives.

Xi said 皇冠体育app-Maldives relations - since 1972 - "are now on a new upward trajectory and face major opportunities".

"The river is wide at full tide, a strong wind sen the sail surging forward," Xi quoted an old Chinese poem as saying.

皇冠体育app and the Maldives "have good coordination and cooperation on a range of global issues including climate change", assistant Foreign ster Liu Jianchao said prior to the visit.

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