VIENNA - The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative
opens up opportunities for Austria and China to boost cooperation, Austrian
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told Xinhua ahead of his visit to China.
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz addresses the media after a cabinet meeting in Vienna, Austria, April 4, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]
"I see transport, energy and telecommunications,
sustainable technologies, rural development, financial services and e-commerce
as attractive areas with special expertise" for bilateral cooperation
within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Kurz said.
Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the
initiative aims to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and
people-to-people connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade
routes, thus building a new platform for international cooperation to create
new drivers of growth.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen left for
China on Friday to pay a state visit and attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual
Conference 2018 together with a 250-strong delegation, including four cabinet
ministers and 170 businessmen. Kurz is expected to join the delegation on
Sunday.
All members of the delegation look forward to sharing
ideas and discussing future joint projects with China. There are plans to sign
numerous agreements that will further boost bilateral relations, Kurz said.
Austria wishes to boost its profile within China and aims
to connect key industry players and stakeholders from both countries, he said.
Austria and China have maintained good and intensive
relations, and there is enormous upward potential, for example in the areas of
export, sustainable infrastructure projects, environment, culture, tourism and
science, Kurz said.
In science, the chancellor said the first quantum video
conference between Beijing and Vienna in September 2017 is a good example of
cooperation between the two countries' academies of science.
Kurz said Austria's know-how in the winter sports arena
could also provide numerous opportunities in China ahead of the 2022 Winter
Olympics in Beijing.
China has not only registered significant economic
progress in recent years, but also been a global actor playing a constructive
role in solving problems such as climate change and regional conflicts, Kurz
said.
In view of geopolitical developments, a special focus has
been placed on China in the Austrian government's five-year working program,
Kurz said, adding: "This state visit is a weighty sign of this
focus."
Kurz said Austria is an important hub between East and
West and has an observer role in the 16+1 cooperation, a platform for
cooperation between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries.
"In this role, we are following the ongoing developments with great
interest," he added.
He said during the visit, Austria will also pay attention
to how it, as a member state of the European Union (EU), will strengthen
cooperation with China at multilateral levels in the future.
In general, Austria is very happy that China and Austria
have common positions in the multilateral field, Kurz said.
As Austria prepares to take over the rotating presidency
of the EU in the second half of this year, Kurz said his country will promote
constructive and intense EU-China cooperation, for example, to push forward the
negotiations for an EU-China investment agreement.
With a strategic partnership for 15 years, the
cooperation between the EU and China has already been extremely intensive and
comprehensive, especially in the form of over 60 dialogue forums on various
topics, Kurz said.
China has become a key partner for the EU in the areas of security, trade, climate, environmental issues, renewable energy and so on, he said.