exchanges

Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un Hold Talks， Reach Important Consensus

Xi Jinping， general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China（CPC） and Chinese president， held talks on January 8 with Kim Jong Un， chairman of the Workers Party of Korea （WPK） and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea （DPRK）， who arrived in Beijing on the same day.

The two sides agreed to make joint efforts to push for continuous development of ChinaDPRK relations in the new era， constantly advance the political settlement process of the Korean Peninsula issue， bring more benefits to people of the two countries， and make a positive contribution to peace， stability， prosperity， and development of the region and the rest of the world.

Xi stressed that the two sides， with concrete actions， have demonstrated the strong vitality of the China-DPRK friendship and displayed their resolute determination to jointly advance the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the China-DPRK diplomatic relations and bears great significance to the efforts of building on past successes to further advance the bilateral relationship.

Xi said the two sides should maintain high-level exchanges， strengthen strategic communication， deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation， and promote the long-term， healthy， and stable development of ChinaDPRK relations.

Kim said with this visit， he hoped to take the opportunity afforded by the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries to conduct deep exchanges of views with Comrade General Secretary on consolidating the DPRKChina traditional friendship and stepping up the DPRK-China exchanges and cooperation.

Chinese Vice President Urges Dialogue and Consultations for Healthy， Stable China-U.S. Ties

China and the United States should respect each others sovereignty， security， and development interests and properly handle and control differences through dialogue and consultations， Vice President Wang Qishan said on January 10.

These remarks came as Wang attended a reception in Beijing marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.

China-U.S. relations are one of the most important bilateral ties in the world with the greatest potential， Wang said. Over the past 40 years， their relations have forged ahead despite twists and turns， and recorded achievements unimaginable to people four decades ago. The ties have not only benefitted the two peoples but also promoted world peace， stability， and prosperity.

Recently， Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump met each other， had a phone call， and exchanged congratulatory letters on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations， pointing the way for the two sides to further promote bilateral ties， Wang said.

He called on the two countries to conform to the two peoples desires to enhance exchanges and cooperation， and encourage more interactions from all circles to further consolidate public opinion and the social foundation for bilateral relations.

Diplomatic Envoys from 12 Countries Visit Xinjiang

Diplomatic envoys from 12 countries witnessed the social and economic progress in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on a tour from December 28 to 30 in 2018.

The regional government invited diplomatic envoys from Russia， Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan， Uzbekistan， Tajikistan， India， Pakistan， Indonesia， Malaysia， Afghanistan， Thailand， and Kuwait.

The diplomatic envoys visited local markets， farmers， educational institutes， mosques， factories， as well as vocational education and training centers.

Throughout the trip， they interacted with local vendors， students， and workers in Xinjiang and learned about the regions progress in maintaining social stability， improving peoples livelihood， and developing local economy. They said they expected to cooperate with Chinas Xinjiang.

After their visit of Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar， the largest mosque in Xinjiang， Mohammed Hosnie Shahiran Ismail， counselor of the Malaysian Embassy in China， said， through the tour， he could see that the Chinese government attaches great importance to religious freedom， and religious activities are protected by the state.

The trip refreshed his understanding of Xinjiang， he said， adding the region is different from what Western media has portrayed it to be.

“China will continue to work with the United States to build a strong and stable relationship. Reform and opening-up in China and the normalization and development of China-US relations have benefitted both countries and the entire world. This has been proven by the history of the last four decades. History has told us that for China and the United States， cooperation benefits both countries， confrontation hurts both. Therefore， cooperation is the only right option for us.”

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said while addressing the annual New Year gala of the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA （CGCC-USA） in New York on January 7.