Chinese, Slovak diplomats vow to boost bilateral ties

BRATISLAVA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Slovak diplomats confirmed their intention to further enhance bilateral ties at a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Slovakia Monday evening.

In 1993, the Slovak Republic became an independent sovereign state. China immediately recognized and established diplomatic relations with it.

"Over the past 30 years, the friendly relations and cooperation made steady progress," Chinese Ambassador Sun Lijie said at the reception marking the 30th anniversary of China's recognition of the independence of the central European country.

The ambassador praised the bilateral economic relations, with China becoming Slovakia's largest trading partner outside the European Union (EU), and Chinese investment stock in Slovakia exceeding 400 million U.S. dollars, creating thousands of jobs.

China attaches great importance to the development of China-Slovakia relations, and is willing to continue carrying forward traditional friendship, deepening pragmatic cooperation and strengthening people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so as to elevate the bilateral relations to a higher level in the new period, according to Sun.

"This year, we want to focus our cooperation between China and Slovakia on deepening the bilateral political dialogue," Pavol Sykorcin, secretary general of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, said.

"Our interest is to support tangible economic cooperation activities, especially in the framework of the EU-China dialogue. We should look for solutions with an open heart," he said.

The embassy also hosted an exhibition showcasing drawings of traditional Chinese architecture by Aurel Fabri, a Slovak architect, who has been teaching in China for the past twelve years.

"Positive cultural exchanges between the West and the East are not only extremely important but also necessary," Fabri said.

According to Pavol Demes, former Slovak foreign minister who is also the curator of the exhibition, "for the last 30 years, we have been developing friendly relations and getting to know each other. I think we can build on that and improve our ties in the future."