Polish president discusses Ukraine war and Belarus border crisis with Xi on China visit
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing during a state visit to China. The Polish leader said that he had raised the issue of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the crisis on Poland’s border with Belarus during the talks, which also focused on boosting economic ties.
“I am very happy that, thanks to the fact that President [Xi] calls me a friend, which is a great honour for me, I can contribute to building [Polish-Chinese] relations together with the president,” said Duda afterwards.
Noting that his second and final term in office ends next year, Duda said that he “hopes that these relationships will also be built in the future…[and] will always be based on common ideals…[and] on mutual respect”.
Wizyta Prezydenta @AndrzejDuda w Chinach składa się z dwóch komponentów: handlowo-inwestycyjnego, w tym szerszego dostępu polskich produktów rolnych do drugiej największej gospodarki świata, oraz elementu bezpieczeństwa.
💬 Mam nadzieję, że polsko-chińskie relacje będą budowane… pic.twitter.com/hbdUaukaR9
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) June 24, 2024
Ahead of the talks, Duda had told the media that he would “present our [the Polish] view” on the war in Ukraine to Xi. “It is no secret that China’s influence, including its influence on Russia, is certainly enormous,” he added, quoted by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
Duda also said that he would tell Xi about “the realities” of what is happening on Poland’s border, where Belarus and Russia have been orchestrating a migration crisis as part of what Poland and the EU call a “hybrid war”.
But, said Duda, it is also “very important to me that all the difficult war situations taking place today in Europe do not disturb the idea of economic cooperation between Poland and China”.
However, he warned that “the war Russia is waging against Ukraine interferes with trade relations with China and hinders the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative”, a Chinese global infrastructure strategy, reports news website Onet.
Two alleged members of Russia’s Wagner Group will stand trial in Poland on charges including terrorism and working on behalf of Russian intelligence.
The men were detained last year after allegedly posting hundreds of recruitment posters in Polish cities https://t.co/OHuwmKgK9M
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 21, 2024
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who met with Duda earlier in the day, noted that trade between China and Poland last year was worth $42 billion, twice as much as eight years earlier.
“We will develop our friendship, increase trust and strengthen economic cooperation,” said Li, quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza. “We will look for progress in our strategic partnership to bring even better results.”
Duda’s current visit to China is his third as president of Poland. His first took place in November 2015, then in February 2022 he was the only elected EU leader to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Xi also visited Poland in 2016.
Xi hails China’s “true friendship” with Poland after meeting Duda for talks on trade and investment
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Main image credit: Marek Borawski/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
