Chinese premier meets Qatari PM

BEIJING, Sept. 7 -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Beijing on Monday.

Noting Qatar is an important strategic partner of China in the Middle East and the Gulf region, Li said China stands ready to work with Qatar to further enhance communication and coordination, firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, and advance bilateral relations to deliver greater benefits to the two peoples.

Li called on the two sides to strengthen alignment of development strategies, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and deepen collaboration in traditional energy, new-energy sources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence and finance to pursue win-win outcomes at a higher level.

"China welcomes Qatari investment in China and supports more Chinese enterprises to invest in Qatar to improve the quality and efficiency of two-way investment," Li said, voicing hope that Qatar will continue to foster a sound development environment for Chinese enterprises and safeguard the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Qatar.

The two sides should also boost people-to-people and cultural exchanges covering culture, education, giant panda conservation and research to bring the peoples of the two countries closer, Li added.

He said China supports Qatar's mediation efforts on Middle East issues and is ready to work with Qatar and other regional countries as well as the international community to strive for early peace and tranquility in the region.

Al Thani said Qatar values its relations with China, and the two countries have consistently upheld mutual trust and respect and achieved mutual benefit and win-win results.

He said Qatar is willing to work with China to scale up exchanges at all levels and deepen practical cooperation in economy and trade, high-and-new technologies and advanced manufacturing to jointly embrace the next golden decade of bilateral relations.

Qatar commends and appreciates China's efforts to advance peace and stability in the Middle East, Al Thani said, adding that Qatar is committed to resolving conflicts through dialogue and restoring peace in the region.