General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou:
“The contacts I held in China, at the head of an AKEL delegation, with high-level officials of the Government, the National People’s Congress and the country’s Communist Party have been very important. On the agenda of our discussions were the bilateral relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Peoples Republic of China, the relations between AKEL and the Communist Party of China, the developments surrounding the Cyprus problem and other important problems of the international political scene”
The meetings held in Beijing today by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, who is visiting the P.R. of China heading a Party delegation, following an official invitation extended by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, were completed.
St. Stefanou met today with the member of the Political Bureau of the C.C. of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Congress, Li Hongzhong. In their meeting, Stefanos Stefanou and Li Hongzhong agreed on the conclusion that relations between AKEL and the CPC of China are at a very good level and that they are developing very dynamically. Both of them also agreed that relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are also very good.
The meeting assessed the international situation and stressed the need to solve international, regional and local problems in a peaceful manner on the basis of international law. The need to promote equal cooperation for the benefit of all states and peoples of the world was underlined.
After thanking the leadership of the People’s Republic of China for the principled position the country maintains on the Cyprus problem and for its long-standing and consistent support for the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL briefed about the current state of play surrounding the Cyprus problem and the efforts being made to break the deadlock and resume the negotiations from the point where they were interrupted on the basis of the Guterres Framework and preserving the convergences that have been recorded so far.
St. Stefanou reiterated AKEL’s position, which is also the position of the Republic of Cyprus, about the solution of the problems China faces on the basis of the “One China” position and the “One Country, Two Systems” position.
Stefanos Stefanou and Li Hongzhong agreed that AKEL and the CPC should continue their efforts to further strengthen and develop relations between the two Parties, which will have a positive impact on the further development of the traditionally very good relations between Cyprus and China. The meeting between Stefanou and Hongzhong was attended by delegations from both Parties, while the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to China, Martha Mavrommatis, and the Assistant Head of the Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Cyprus in China, Marios Stavrou, were present.
The AKEL delegation also held meetings with the leadership of the International Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, as well as with Party cadres of the Haidian District Party Organisation in Beijing.
The AKEL delegation also had the opportunity to visit Research and Innovation Centres and to learn about the development and application of Artificial Intelligence in the country’s daily life. The AKEL delegation’s visit will continue with meetings and visits to Shanghai.
Stefanos Stefanou is accompanied in China by the members of the Political Bureau Nikos Ioannou and Haris Karamanos and the members of the C.C. of AKEL Vera Polycarpou, Evanthia Savva and Maria Ioannidou.