Chinese VP meets Georgian president

TBILISI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili in Tbilisi on Friday.

Han conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's warm greetings and best wishes to President Kavelashvili. He said Georgia is China's first strategic partner in Transcaucasia and also the first country in Eurasia to establish a free trade arrangement with China.

Over the 34 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have been upholding the principles of mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win cooperation and promoted the sound and steady development of bilateral relations, Han said.

In June this year, Xi and Kavelashvili jointly announced the elevation of China-Georgia relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, opening a new chapter for the development of bilateral ties and injecting fresh impetus into cooperation across various fields, he said.

China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Georgia, jointly deliver on the important consensus reached by the two leaders, and advance the development of China-Georgia relations, Han added.

Consolidating and advancing China-Georgia relations serves the fundamental interests and shared aspirations of the two peoples, he said, adding the two sides should continue to firmly support each other on issues bearing on each other's core interests.

China applauds Georgia's positive response to the four global initiatives proposed by Xi, and is ready to work with Georgia to act on these initiatives, jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law, Han said.

The two sides should better align their development strategies, take high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as the guide to promote mutually beneficial cooperation across various fields, actively carry out people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and steadily foster closer bonds between the two peoples, he said.

Kavelashvili asked Han to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Xi.

He said that as ancient civilizations with long histories, Georgia and China respect and trust each other, their cooperative bonds keep tightening, and people-to-people exchanges are growing ever more frequent. Georgia takes great pride in its cooperation with China, he added.

The Georgian president said that Georgia, as one of the earliest countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative, stands ready to deepen cooperation with China in connectivity, infrastructure development, trade and economy, tourism, sports, education and other areas, so as to deliver more benefits to both countries and greater well-being to their peoples, and continuously advance the Georgia-China comprehensive strategic partnership.