SANTO DOMINGO — The relationship between China and the Dominican Republic has opened a new page and ushered in a broad and bright future, said visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sept 21.

Wang made the speech when he inaugurated the Chinese Embassy in the Dominican Republic with the country’s Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas.

Wang said that after the joint efforts of both sides, the dream of establishing diplomatic relations between China and the Dominican Republic has finally come true. This is a historic and exciting moment, Wang added.

Though China and the Dominican Republic are far apart, there is a Chinese saying that “good friends feel close to each other even when they are thousands of miles away,” Wang said.

The two countries have been understanding and supporting each other since not long after the People’s Republic of China was founded. In the historical process of the Dominican Republic’s maintenance of national sovereignty and dignity, the Chinese people’s choice is to stand with the Dominican people, Wang said.

In the 1990s, China and the Dominican Republic have set up Offices of Commercial Development, and bilateral exchanges and cooperation became increasingly close in various fields.

After more than 20 years, the Dominican Republic has become China’s largest trading partner in the Caribbean area, he said.

Wang said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in the past four months, the two sides have shown unprecedented enthusiasm and achieved important and positive progress in cooperation.

Wang said that this fully shows that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries accords the trend of the times and the will of the people, and the relations can be accelerated.

Wang added the two sides should step up their work to lay a solid foundation for the long-term development of the two countries’ relations, and to prove with fruitful results that the choice has been made for the long-term interests of the Dominican Republic and its people.

In his part, Vargas said that the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Dominican Republic has launched a new chapter in their relations.

The Dominican Republic has joined more than 170 countries in adopting the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 2758 that recognizes the one-China principle, Vargas said.

China is a sincere, reliable and respectful friend of the Dominican Republic, Vargas said, adding that the Dominican Republic appreciates China’s great economic and social development, and that China has always stood with the developing countries, making contributions to their unity.

During its tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Dominican Republic is willing to strengthen coordination with China to jointly safeguard world peace and stability, Vargas said.