KIEV — China and Ukraine signed an action plan on jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and agreed to deepen all-round collaboration to strengthen their strategic partnership at the third session of the China-Ukraine Intergovernmental Commission on bilateral cooperation in Kiev on Dec 5.

The meeting co-chaired by Vice-Premier Ma Kai and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv concluded that bilateral cooperation has made good progress since the second session of the commission in Beijing in 2013.

China and Ukraine have advanced in their cooperation in such areas as trade, economy, agriculture, space, science and technology, education, culture and healthcare.

The action plan signed on jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will see further enhancement of the proposal first put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013. The plan envisions building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.

The meeting on Dec 5 also saw the two sides sign a series of agreements on agriculture, energy efficiency and renewable energy, culture, healthcare and education as well as other sectors.

The China-Ukraine Intergovernmental Commission was launched in 2011 as a core mechanism to coordinate and plan all-round cooperation between the two countries.

The next meeting of the commission will be held in China in 2019.

The Chinese delegation arrived in Kiev on Dec 4 on a three-day visit at the invitation of the Ukrainian government.