BEIJING — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on May 20 held a phone conversation with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin, with both sides vowing to promote pragmatic cooperation.

In February this year, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and paid a successful visit to China, during which the two heads of state reached important consensus on the development of bilateral relations, Wang said.

Noting that China and Ecuador share extensive common interests, Wang said their cooperation is South-South cooperation featuring mutual respect, mutual assistance and mutual support, which has yielded important outcomes and has a bright prospect.

Ecuador is about to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the victory of its war of independence, said Wang, adding that he believes the South American country will make new achievements on the new development path.

Wang said that the two sides should consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen coordination, continue to view the development of bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and strengthen mutual support on issues of their respective core interests.

He thanked Ecuador for adhering to the one-China principle and supporting China in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests.

The two sides should strengthen coordination in the multilateral arena, defend true multilateralism and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, he added.

Wang said that China is willing to continue to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with Ecuador, actively negotiate and sign the Belt and Road cooperation plan, jointly foster new growth points such as the Health Silk Road, the digital Silk Road and a green Silk Road, and upgrade practical cooperation so as to bring more benefits to the people of the two countries.

For his part, Holguin said that the Ecuador-China friendship has been rooted in the two peoples and cannot be shaken by any international force.

Ecuador attaches great importance to developing relations with China, firmly supports the one-China principle, and is willing to strengthen strategic communication with China, consolidate political mutual trust and push forward their comprehensive strategic partnership, Holguin said.

He thanked China for its strong support to Ecuador in fighting COVID-19, as well as in healthcare, infrastructure construction and other fields, saying that the country is ready to further deepen Belt and Road cooperation with China, speed up negotiations on a free trade agreement, and enrich pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in various fields.