BEIJING, Oct. 15 -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Botswana's President Duma Gideon Boko in Beijing on Thursday.

Li said that in recent years, thanks to the joint efforts of China and Botswana, bilateral relations have maintained a sound momentum of development.

China stands ready to work with Botswana to follow the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, further consolidate political mutual trust, and continuously expand mutually beneficial cooperation, he said.

Li stated that China stands ready with Botswana to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, leverage mechanisms such as the joint economic and trade commission, and deepen cooperation in mining, digital technologies, green energy, artificial intelligence and other fields.

Li said the two sides may upgrade the bilateral investment protection agreement to expand and improve the efficiency of two-way trade and investment. Both sides can also expand people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in education, youth, culture, tourism, health care and other areas to foster greater mutual understanding and affinity between the two peoples, he added.

Boko stated that Botswana firmly adheres to the one-China principle and stands ready to leverage China's zero-tariff policy to expand trade with China. Botswana supports the four major global initiatives and is ready to work closely with China on multilateral coordination to achieve common development, he added.