WARSAW, June 20, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a welcoming ceremony held by Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, June 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
WARSAW, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China and Poland agreed on Monday to upgrade their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Poland.
Xi and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda made the announcement after they held talks at the Presidential Palace. The two countries established a strategic partnership in 2011.
During their talks, the two leaders agreed to align the two countries' development strategies and join hands to build a community of interests featuring mutual benefits and win-win cooperation.
The two leaders also agreed to promote the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, launching at an early date some major cooperation projects with exemplary significance for early harvest.
Xi urged the two countries to transform their political trusts into tangible achievements of sustainable practical cooperations, hoping their cooperative projects, including China-Europe freight train service, could play a leading role in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative while enhancing China-Poland inter-connectivity as well as production capacity cooperation.
Duda, for his part, said Poland is willing to work more closely with China on areas of economy and commerce, people to people exchanges, and become a portal to Europe for the world's second largest economy.
Before the meeting, Duda held a welcoming ceremony for Xi at the Presidential Palace.
Poland is the second leg of Xi's three-nation Eurasia tour. He visited Serbia before Poland, and is expected to travel to Uzbekistan for a state visit and attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
