Maintaining friendship, cooperation forms foundation of partnership, Xi says

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China stands ready to work with Slovakia to foster a strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and trust, equality, mutual benefit, stability and resilience, in order to deliver greater benefits to the two peoples.

Xi made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, who is on a three-day visit to China, his first since taking office in 2024. "This marks only the second state visit in Slovakia's history, highlighting the significance of our relationship," Pellegrini wrote in a social media post ahead of his arrival on Monday.

The meeting marked the latest high-level interaction between the two countries, following Xi's meeting in Beijing in September with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Xi and Fico met three times in less than two years.

Slovakia was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. The two countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership during Fico's official visit to China in 2024. China is Slovakia's largest trading partner outside the European Union, and bilateral trade volume reached $8.63 billion in 2025, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Despite having different political systems, China and Slovakia have consistently respected each other's development paths and maintained friendship and cooperation as the central theme of their bilateral relations, Xi told Pellegrini on Tuesday. Xi emphasized that this mutual respect and cooperation form the foundation for the healthy and rapid development of China-Slovakia relations.

China appreciates Slovakia's adherence to the one-China principle, and will continue to work with Slovakia to fully accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns, he added.

Xi noted that Slovakia has actively participated in the joint building of the Belt and Road and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, yielding fruitful results. He called on the two countries to further leverage mechanisms such as the intergovernmental cooperation committee to provide policy support for deepening cooperation.

Both sides should also tap into the potential for collaboration in emerging industries and cutting-edge fields such as clean energy, the digital economy, robotics manufacturing and artificial intelligence, to create new highlights of cooperation, he added.

The two countries should broaden cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, youth and subnational exchanges, and make it easier for people to travel between the two countries, he said.

Xi also said China and Slovakia should safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law, jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Building consensus

China hopes Slovakia will play a constructive role in promoting the sound and steady growth of China-EU relations, Xi said, stressing that China always views the EU as a partner and develops its relations with the EU with sincerity and goodwill.

He noted that China-EU relations face both emerging opportunities and numerous challenges. The key to turning challenges into opportunities lies in equal consultation and building consensus while shelving differences, he added.

For his part, Pellegrini said that as a member state of the EU, Slovakia stands ready to actively promote cooperation between the EU and China, and the proper settlement of differences through dialogue and consultation. He said that Slovakia highly commends China's remarkable development achievements and its steady progress in advancing Chinese modernization.

Pellegrini added that Slovakia cherishes the strategic partnership between the two countries, firmly upholds the one-China principle, and looks forward to enhancing mutual trust, strengthening cooperation and deepening friendship with China.

He said Slovakia highly values and appreciates China's international status and influence, and is willing to work with China in upholding multilateralism, safeguarding the purposes of the UN Charter and international law, and promoting regional and world peace and stability.

Contact the writers at jihaisheng@chinadaily.com.cn