Moldovan foreign affairs minister has meeting with Chinese counterpart; facilitating access of domestic products to Chinese market on agenda

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Mihai Popsoi has had a meeting today in Beijing with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi. The two officials discussed the evolution of the Moldovan-Chinese relations and the prospects for developing bilateral cooperation in the economic and trade fields, through expanding exports and facilitating access of domestic products to the Chinese market.

The ministers agreed to organize a new round of interministerial political consultations as a mechanism to strengthen institutional contacts and identify new opportunities for sectoral cooperation.

“In Beijing, I had a meeting with China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi. We reconfirmed the importance of maintaining a dialogue based on developing relations for the benefit of the citizens of both states. We also highlighted our interest in launching a direct air route between Moldova and China, which will facilitate trade exchanges and travel between the two countries,” said Mihai Popsoi.

Another topic of the meeting was economic and trade cooperation, with a focus on expanding exports and facilitating access for domestic products, especially agri-food and wine products, to the Chinese market. The sides also noted the potential for developing investment relations between the two states, including through strengthening contacts between business communities and making use of existing economic platforms.

Minister Mihai Popsoi emphasized that Moldova stayed firmly committed to the process of European integration, a strategic objective that reflects the citizens’ aspirations for the country’s modernization.

For his part, Minister Wang Yi expressed China’s respect for the development path chosen by Moldova and for its objective of European integration. The Chinese official also thanked the Moldovan authorities for the support provided at the beginning of the war in Ukraine in facilitating the transit and evacuation of Chinese students.

At the same time, Wang Yi expressed China’s openness to strengthening cooperation relations with Moldova. The Chinese official underlined the significant potential of the Chinese market for Moldovan products, especially wines, noting that China is one of the largest import markets for agri-food products worldwide. In the context, the sides highlighted prospect of expanding imports and deepening bilateral trade exchanges.

The ministers also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining dialogue between the two countries, based on mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popsoi is paying an official visit to the People’s Republic of China during May 21-25, at an invitation by his counterpart Wang Yi. The visit aims to strengthen bilateral dialogue and promote economic, trade, investment, cultural, educational and tourism cooperation between the two states.

The last visit of a Moldovan foreign affairs minister to China took place in 2018.