China is ready to push forward with institutional reforms and tap market potential through innovation and entrepreneurship to seize opportunities brought by the latest round of global technological and industrial revolution, Premier Li Keqiang said in a meeting with Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Dalian. Li and Schwab recalled their first meeting in Dalian 12 years ago when the first Summer Davos Forum was held. Premier Li said China is resolved to push forward with a new round
of opening up and vowed to create a fair investment environment for overseas investors. Klaus Schwab said the World Economic Forum is willing to enhance its cooperation with China.

President Xi Jinping vowed to push forward China’s cooperation with northern Europe while meeting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila. The two Prime Ministers are in China to attend the Summer Davos Forum in Dalian. Xi noted that Sweden was the first Western country to set up diplomatic ties with China.

Over 2,000 prominent leaders from politics, business, civil society, academia and the arts from 84 countries and regions, attended this year’s Summer Davos, which was held under the theme “Achieving Inclusive Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

China and the United States have held their first diplomatic and security dialogue in Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hosted Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and PLA General Fang Fenghui, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) for the talks at the State Department. The diplomatic and security dialogue is one of four high-level mechanisms established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida in April. The other three are discussions focused on economics, law enforcement and cybersecurity, and social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. President Xi Jinping looks forward to meeting again with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G20 Summit in Germany in July and welcomes Trump to make a state visit to China this year, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said while meeting President Trump at the White House. Trump said the U.S. hopes to cooperate with China in projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative. Fan Jishe, Researcher of China-U.S. ties at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said China and the U.S. have maintained “close cooperation” on major issues, and they need timely communication to solve or narrow their differences.

China supports building a Silk Road in the air between Luxembourg and Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, President Xi Jinping said when meeting with visiting Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in Beijing. The airfreight industry has been a highlight of Bettel’s official visit to China. Bettel and Premier Li Keqiang witnessed the signing of a joint investment deal involving airline freight shipping companies from Luxembourg and Henan province. Since airfreight operations between the two started in 2014, shipments to and from Luxembourg have accounted for nearly a fourth of Zhengzhou airport’s total cargo shipments. President Xi said the two countries should nurture new highlights of cooperation, including shipping by air, high and leading technologies, and green economy to achieve greater mutual benefits. Luxembourg is also ready to boost cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Bettel said. The two countries signed agreements in areas including internet financing, public security and joint film shooting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 17th summit meeting of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan. During the summit, the member states signed the SCO Convention on Combating Extremism, and issued a declaration to jointly fight international terrorism. India and Pakistan were officially accepted as member states at the summit, taking the number of SCO members from the previous six – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – to eight. The move made the SCO one of the biggest regional organizations, covering nearly half of the world’s population. and Kazakhstan plan to further upgrade their bilateral investment agreement to promote more trade and investment deals in the key areas of energy, agriculture and infrastructure, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. Sino-Kazakh trade exceeded USD4.91 billion between January and April, up 45.6% compared with the same period last year. Kazakhstan is also China’s largest investment destination among Belt and Road economies.

President Xi Jinping met Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Beijing on May 17. Nuclear energy, sports and infrastructure were among the highlights of the 16 cooperative documents signed between China and Argentina. They included a general contract for building the fourth and fifth nuclear power plants in Argentina. The Chinese and Argentinian President also discussed soccer cooperation. China is Argentina’s largest customer for agricultural products, including beef. Last year, China had total exports of USD7.2 billion to Argentina and total imports of USD5.1 billion. During his meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, President Xi said that the two countries should enhance cooperation in areas such as law enforcement, security, anti-terrorism, fighting internet crime, and hunting for fugitives overseas. Exchanges in tourism, culture, education and youth should be expanded, he added.