Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on September 20

应马里共和国总统凯塔邀请，国家主席习近平特使、全国政协副主席郑建邦将赴马里首都巴马科出席于9月22日举行的凯塔总统就职典礼。 

　　中马传统友谊深厚。建交58年来，两国关系发展顺利，各领域合作成果显著。中国始终是马里的真诚朋友和可靠伙伴，两国人民命运紧密相连。中方高度重视中马关系发展，愿同马方一道努力，以落实中非合作论坛北京峰会成果为契机，推动两国传统友好合作关系迈上新的水平，更好造福两国和两国人民。 

At the invitation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of the Republic of Mali, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zheng Jianbang, as President Xi Jinping's Special Envoy, will travel to Bamako, the capital of Mali, to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Keita on September 22. 

China and Mali enjoy profound traditional friendship. During the past 58 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, our bilateral ties have been growing smoothly with notable outcomes in cooperation across the board. China remains a sincere friend and reliable partner of Mali. The destiny of the Chinese people is closely connected with that of the people in Mali. China attaches high importance to the development of its ties with Mali. We are willing to work with Mali to take the implementation of the outcomes of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as an opportunity to elevate our traditional friendly cooperative relations and deliver greater benefits to our two countries and two peoples. 

　　问：19日，欧盟委员会公布题为《连接欧洲和亚洲—对欧盟战略的设想》政策文件，这是欧盟迄今就欧亚互联互通提出的最为全面系统的政策主张。文件提出将中国列为首要双边合作对象，并强调中欧互联互通平台合作、欧盟与亚投行的合作等。中方对此有何评论？ 

　　答：我们注意到欧盟昨天发布了关于欧亚互联互通战略的政策文件。文件积极评价亚欧互联互通的意义和对促进亚欧经济增长的作用，倡导“全面、可持续和以规则为基础的互联互通”，并表示愿同包括中国在内的亚洲国家加强合作。我们期待欧盟在促进亚欧互联互通方面发挥建设性作用，对外传递促进亚欧各国经济合作、建设开放型世界经济的积极信号。 

Q: On September 19, the European Commission issued a policy document titled "the EU strategy on connecting Europe and Asia", which represents the most comprehensive and systematic policies and proposals put forth by the EU on the Eurasian connectivity so far. The paper said that China would be a priority for bilateral cooperation and highlighted the China-EU cooperation on the connectivity platform as well as the cooperation between the EU and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. What is your comment? 

A: We have noted that the EU issued the policy document on the Eurasian connectivity yesterday. The document speaks highly of the significance of the Eurasian connectivity and its role in driving the Eurasian economic growth, advocates the "comprehensive, sustainable and rules-based connectivity" and expresses the EU's willingness to strengthen cooperation with China and other Asian countries. We hope that the EU can play a constructive role in advancing the Eurasian connectivity and send out the positive signal of promoting the economic cooperation between the Eurasian countries and building an open world economy.