China: U.S. needs to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs
Wang Wenbin: President Castro’s first state visit to China has been a full success with fruitful outcomes. It is a visit that has opened up a new chapter for China-Honduras relations.
This is a history-making visit that boosted trust and expanded cooperation. The two presidents met for the first time and jointly charted the course for bilateral relations. President Xi Jinping noted that China will stay firmly committed to growing friendly relations with Honduras, staunchly support Honduras’s economic and social development, and seek to be good friends and partners of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and common development with Honduras.
President Castro noted that Honduras firmly supports and adheres to the one-China principle and that the rapid growth of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties a little more than two months ago has given the Honduran people full confidence in the future of the relationship. Honduras is ready to work with China for the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations.
President Castro’s visit has attracted extensive attention in China, Honduras and the rest of the world. I heard that China became a trending topic in Honduran media. The Chinese public has also followed the visit closely. This speaks to both peoples’ high hopes for and confidence in the future prospects of China-Honduras ties. China will redouble its efforts of working with Honduras to act on the important common understandings reached by our presidents and give our relationship the strength it needs to cross mountains and oceans and sail towards an even brighter future.
A joint declaration was issued following the meeting. Honduras became a new member of the family of Belt and Road cooperation and expressed strong support for the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping. A total of 17 cooperation agreements were signed, covering political exchange, trade, quality inspection and quarantine, agriculture, science, technology, culture, education and media, which constituted the main sectors going forward for practical cooperation. Leaders of both sides agreed to launch the negotiation process for a free trade agreement at an early date to bring bilateral trade cooperation to a new height.
The entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement for all its 15 signatory states marks the beginning of a new phase of full implementation for RCEP, which covers more population, involves more trade and has more potential to grow than any other free trade area in the world.
RECP is a milestone in Asia-Pacific economic integration. It is a great example of regional countries sharing opportunities for development. Since its implementation began, trade links between relevant countries have grown notably, trade within the region has become a key engine stabilizing and driving external trade, and the region has remained a popular destination for global investment.
RCEP has actually given a strong boost to regional integration, development and prosperity. It has delivered tangible benefits for participating states in terms of tariff concession, trade facilitation, greater transparency in investment policies and fewer technical trade barriers. Take China, the largest economy within RCEP, for example. In 2022, trade between China and other RCEP members reached RMB 12.95 trillion, up by 7.5 percent, while their investment in China, in actual use, went up 23.1 percent to USD 23.53 billion.
The full entry into force of RCEP reflects regional countries’ strong aspiration for economic integration and common development. As a staunch supporter of trade liberalization and facilitation and an important participant in regional cooperation, China stands ready to work together with all relevant parties to advance high-quality implementation of RCEP and inject new impetus into economic recovery in the region and beyond.
