NANJING — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on Jan 11.

Noting Bahrain and China enjoy time-honored relations and a solid friendship, Al Zayani said Bahrain attaches great importance to strengthening and deepening relations with China and is ready to expand bilateral cooperation in all areas.

Wang said China appreciates Bahrain's firm adherence to the friendly policy towards China and thanks Bahrain for its solid support on issues involving China's core interests and major concerns.

Noting that China firmly advocates and practices multilateralism and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, Wang said China will always stand on the side of developing countries and small- and medium-sized nations to jointly defend international fairness and justice.

China is willing to be a long-term and reliable strategic partner of Bahrain and deepen mutual trust and friendship, Wang added.

China will continue to provide vaccines to Bahrain, work with Bahrain to keep international anti-pandemic cooperation on the right track, and ensure scientific and fair research on global tracing of virus origins, Wang said.

China is ready to strengthen bilateral cooperation on 5G communications, e-commerce, digital economy, and big data, and advance cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and photovoltaic projects, said Wang.

China encourages more competitive Chinese enterprises to invest in Bahrain and hopes that Bahrain would continue to provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises, he added.

Al Zayani said Bahrain recognizes the basic norms governing international relations such as non-interference in internal affairs, mutual respect, good neighborliness, and peaceful dispute settlements. He added that Bahrain also opposes politicizing human rights issues and supports China's efforts to maintain unity and stability.

Al Zayani said that Bahrain supports China in hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics and opposes the politicization of sports.

The two sides exchanged views on cooperation between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as well as on the Iranian nuclear issue and the situation in the Middle East.