Xi pledges support for Chinese firms to invest in Sierra Leone

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Chinese enterprises are encouraged to invest in Sierra Leone on Wednesday during talks with Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, who is on a state visit to China.

China is willing to work with Sierra Leone to consolidate political mutual trust, promote pragmatic cooperation and strengthen coordination in regional and international affairs, Xi said.

China is ready to provide help for Sierra Leone's development in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure construction and human resources, Xi told Bio.

Both sides should strengthen cooperation in the affairs of the United Nations Security Council to jointly safeguard the interests of African countries and developing countries, Xi added.

Regarding China-Africa ties, Xi reiterated that strengthening solidarity and cooperation with African countries has always been an important cornerstone of China's foreign policies.

The Chinese president added that China is willing to work with African friends, including Sierra Leone, for another successful summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

For his part, Bio called China a trustworthy and reliable friend of Sierra Leone and said the two countries always respect each other, treat each other as equals and share a profound traditional friendship.

He said China's experience has provided inspiration for developing countries to accelerate their own development, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Xi has promoted the common interests of all humanity.

Sierra Leone is committed to the one-China principle and supports China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its core interests, said Bio.

Bio said Sierra Leone is ready to learn from China's experience, strengthen BRI cooperation with China and expand cooperation in infrastructure construction, trade, education, public services and other fields to inject new impetus into the traditional friendship between the two countries and promote the further development of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Sierra Leone is also ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in regional and international affairs to jointly promote world peace and development, he added.

After their talks, Xi and Bio jointly witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral documents on cooperation in BRI, agriculture, economic development and implementing the Global Development Initiative.

Both sides also issued a joint statement on deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.