Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso on Saturday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

China and Ecuador issued a joint statement on deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership on Saturday, which the Chinese president said will promote bilateral relations to enter a new stage of development.

Xi hailed the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations over the past 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, saying the two countries firmly support each other's core interests and are good friends who trust each other.

As for last year, Xi pointed out the two countries worked together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic while two-way trade grew against the trend. He added the two sides achieved fruitful cooperation results in various fields. 

The Chinese president urged the two sides to strengthen strategic communication and coordination and continuously support each other on issues related to their core interests.

"We should take the beginning of free trade agreement negotiations as an opportunity to deepen practical cooperation," Xi said, adding the two sides should promote high-quality construction under the Belt and Road Initiative.

He voiced the hope that the Ecuadorian side will continue to provide a fair and convenient business environment for Chinese companies to invest and operate in the country.  

China is willing to cooperate closely with the Ecuadorian side in international affairs and uphold genuine multilateralism, Xi noted, and he welcomed Ecuador to share China's development opportunities and actively support China-proposed Global Development Initiative. 

Lasso thanked President Xi for inviting him to visit China and attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

China is the most important partner of Ecuador, he said, adding cooperation with China is crucial to the economic and social development of Ecuador. 

According to Lasso, Ecuador posts one of the highest vaccination rates in Latin America with half of the vaccines in Ecuador coming from China.  

The people of Ecuador will never forget the Chinese government and Chinese people's valuable assistance at times of great difficulty since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ecuadorian president said, adding China has never attached any political conditions to help Ecuador and other countries.

The Ecuadorian side attaches great importance to the Ecuador-China comprehensive strategic partnership and firmly adheres to the one-China principle, he added.