Rasi Meets with Chinese Parliament's Standing Committee Head Zhao Leji in China

Beijing, 19 May (TASR) - During his visit to China on Monday, Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) met with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji, TASR has learnt from Xinhua News Agency and the Slovak Parliament Office's communications department on Monday. The Slovak House chair confirmed at the meeting that Slovakia is committed to the one-China policy and is ready to strengthen cooperation with Beijing in various areas, including economy, trade and culture. Zhao Leji pointed out that Beijing and Bratislava had agreed to upgrade Chinese-Slovak relations to a strategic partnership during Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) visit to China last year. According to Rasi, the Slovak Parliament is ready to deepen exchanges with the Chinese legislature in this regard and to support the development of the strategic partnership to a higher level. "I see our meeting as an important step towards deepening the parliamentary dimension of the strategic partnership between our countries. The Slovak Republic is interested in transforming political commitments into specific cooperation in all areas. It is the strategic partnership that aims to open doors for our entrepreneurs and also for political, social and cultural meetings," said Rasi, who invited Zhao Leji to visit Slovakia. In the economic area, the Slovak parliamentary head emphasised Slovakia's interest in more balanced trade and increased exports of Slovak products to China. He also pointed to Slovakia's interest in additional Chinese investments, especially in the areas of research, development and innovation. "We're interested in welcoming more Chinese investments with high added value, especially in research and development centres, innovation and modern technologies," he said, adding that Volvo/Geely in Kosice and Gotion in Surany are key Chinese investments in Slovakia. am