VIENTIANE — General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith on Oct 14 met with visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on bilateral relations and cooperation.

Bounnhang said the relationship between Laos and China has maintained positive momentum for development despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed thanks, on behalf of the LPRP party, the Lao government and people, to the brotherly Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese government and people for the great support in Laos' fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

The two sides have also been pushing forward cooperation projects earnestly, which highlighted the common ideals and goals between the two countries and two peoples, he said.

Laos is ready to work with China to push for new progress of cooperation in existing areas and expand new fields of cooperation so as to further enrich the Laos-China comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, said Bounnhang.

Laos firmly supports China in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, and stands with China to jointly build the Laos-China community of shared future, he added.

During the meeting, Wang said the relationship between the LPRP and the CPC and that between the two countries were not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but instead withstood tests and became stronger.

The two sides, with mutual support and solidarity as well as joint efforts to overcome the current difficulties, have effectively brought the COVID-19 epidemic under control, displaying their governance capacity and people-centered governance concept, as well as the spirit of building a community with a shared future, he said.

China is willing to work with Laos to develop their traditional friendship, strengthen mutual trust, consolidate solidarity and mutual help, so as to advance the building of the China-Laos community of shared future, which is a goal set by the two countries' leaderships, and deepen the relations between the two parties and the two countries to benefit the two peoples, Wang said.

The Chinese foreign minister noted that in face of post-pandemic challenges, China and Laos should each make efforts to well coordinate epidemic control with economic development, and continue to strengthen joint anti-COVID-19 fight.

China is willing to offer Laos priority access to vaccines once they are successfully developed and put into use, accelerate cooperation on jointly building the Belt and Road with the China-Laos Economic Corridor as the engine, and expand bilateral trade and investment to help Laos develop economy and improve people's livelihood.

When meeting with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on the same day, Wang said China appreciated Laos' strong support for China during its crucial moment of fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.

The support from the Lao side not only demonstrated the spirit of good friends, good neighbors and good partners, but also highlighted the spirit of the China-Laos community of shared future and the high level of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries, he said.

Faced with the impact of the pandemic, China and Laos should seek opportunities in crises, turn crises into opportunities, speed up the Belt and Road cooperation, use the key projects such as the China-Laos Economic Corridor and the China-Laos Railway as the engine, to deepen pragmatic cooperation in all fields in the post-pandemic era, so as to achieve common development, he said.

For his part, Thongloun expressed his gratitude to China for its tremendous help for Laos' socio-economic development as well as its anti-pandemic fight.

Laos has full confidence in China's capability to contain the epidemic and develop its economy, believing that China will become a model of the global fight against COVID-19 as well as the most important driving force for global economic development in the post-pandemic era, he said.

Laos and China are friends and comrades with unbreakable friendship, Thongloun said, adding that Laos stands ready to work with China to jointly develop the Belt and Road, boost cooperation in infrastructure and finance, among other areas, so as to achieve common development and prosperity of the two countries.

Wang arrived in the Lao capital on early Oct 14 on a Southeast Asia tour, which has taken him to Cambodia and Malaysia as well as a transit visit to Singapore. His last stop is Thailand.