Maltese foreign minister George Vella and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi held talks in Beijing and reached an agreement on the 27th of July on strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Malta has been consistently concluding important bilateral agreements with China across various fields such as energy, infrastructure, aviation, finance, innovation, technology and tourism.
In view of this, the Chinese foreign minister suggested that both countries soon set up a steering committee for medium term cooperation for better collaboration about these various matters. The latest agreement signed by the Maltese foreign minister related to collaboration in the film industry between Malta and China, that will soon see the first Chinese film 'Sonata', shot in Malta.
Wang Yi stated that China is highly willing to keep strengthening bilateral ties with Malta in fields of mutual benefit, including the film industry. Taking into account Malta's frequent political visits and meetings in China as well as the country's ongoing efforts at strengthening this relationship, it will be very interesting to observe the positive results on Malta's corporate and business environment as new trade and business opportunities from China are attracted towards the island.
George Vella stated that Malta wishes to further develop a relationship based on mutual political trust, trade and cultural relations with China, while the Chinese foreign minister expressed his hopes that this relationship will also further strengthen EU-China relations.
In relation to this, the Maltese foreign minister made reference to Malta holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017 and that the country will prioritise EU-China relations on its agenda.
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