China has stated that it firmly supports the Maldives in upholding its national sovereignty, independence and national dignity and opposes external interference in the internal affairs of the Maldives.
In a joint press statement, the governments of China and the Maldives acknowledged the strategic significance of their bilateral relations. The two sides agree to elevate the China-Maldives relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, better leverage the political guidance of high-level engagement, expand practical cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and strengthen collaboration on international and multilateral affairs.
Additionally, the two countries agree to continue supporting each other in safeguarding their respective core interests. China stated that it firmly supports the Maldives in upholding its national sovereignty, independence and national dignity, respects and supports the Maldives' exploration of a development path that suits its national conditions, and firmly opposes external interference in the internal affairs of the Maldives. In addition, the Maldives expressed its commitment to the one-China principle and to oppose external interference in China's internal affairs under any pretext and supports all efforts made by China to achieve national reunification.
Furthermore, the Maldives and China agreed to focus on pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in the efforts to better synergize their development strategies, fully implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and further enhance the level and quality of cooperation, and strengthen practical cooperation in green development, digital economy, blue economy and other fields, to achieve mutual benefits and common development. They also agreed to promote economic and trade cooperation, fully leverage the mechanism of China-Maldives Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation, enhance trade facilitation, and promote high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
Moreover, the Maldives expressed its appreciation for the long-standing, selfless help extended by China for the economic and social development of Maldives. Chine in turn expressed its readiness to continue providing support for Maldives to the best of its capability in areas that the Maldives deems as priorities, including infrastructure construction, medical service and health, improvement of people's livelihood, new energy, agriculture, and protection of marine environment. In addition, the two countries expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the visit by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to China, and agreed that the visit is of great significance to advancing the China-Maldives comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.