The member of the Political Bureau of AKEL Nikos Ioannou had meetings with officials of the Communist Party of China during his recent visit to the People’s Republic of China.

More specifically, N. Ioannou met at the headquarters of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with the Assistant Minister for International Affairs Mr. Zhou Rui and a number of other Party officials, with whom he discussed the upward development of the People’s Republic of Cyprus (PRC), both with regards the economic development and social welfare of the people.

Zhou Rui referred to the initiative taken by the Chinese President, Xi Jinping to resolve the Ukrainian issue, pointing out that this will be to the benefit of both the people of Ukraine and the peoples of Europe. He also stressed that the PRC supports the resolution of international disputes and the Cyprus problem on the basis of the principles of international law and the respect for human rights.

On behalf of AKEL, Nikos Ioannou thanked the Communist Party of China for the support it has so far offered to Cyprus and its efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem as a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN, which is appreciated by the Cypriot people. He also referred to the long-standing relations of friendship between the CPC and AKEL.

During the meeting issues related to the economic relations between Cyprus and China in the field of trade and the need to expand cooperation between the two countries in the field of green energy, in which China has a very significant record, were also discussed. During the discussion, the issue of opening direct air flights between Cyprus and China was also raised, which will open up huge prospects in the field of tourism and trade. The PRC supports such an action and it is expected to be discussed by the Cypriot authorities for a decision to be taken. As has been mentioned, the trend of Chinese tourists today is towards destinations on islands rather than in big cities as used to be the case in the past.

During his visit to Beijing, Nicos Ioannou also had a meeting with the Commercial Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in the PRC, where he was briefed on the economic relations between the two countries and the potential for their further improvement. The common conclusion was drawn that there great potential exists which needs to be further made use of.