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By Dr. Andrestinos N. Papadopoulos, Ambassador a.h.
As we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cyprus diplomatic relations, it comes readily to mind a Chinese saying which wisely states that, “Even the longest journey in the world starts always with a first step”. Indeed, that first step was taken 45 years ago, when on December 14, 1971, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Cyprus signed the agreement establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, with a view to bringing closer the peoples of big China and small Cyprus. In this respect, it should be stressed that China’s foreign policy is based on the principle of equality of all countries, irrespective of their size.
The excellent bilateral relations between China and Cyprus, as well as the special relationship they share are based on the mutual respect and close cooperation between the two governments on a variety of issues, as both are struggling for the unification of their countries. The government of Cyprus firmly supports the shared principle of “One China” and “One Cyprus” and the government of China has a principled stand on the Cyprus question, supporting the independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity of Cyprus as well as a just and viable solution, based on the UN resolutions.
As a permanent member of the Security Council, China has played an important role in the search for a just solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the UN Charter, calling for the implementation of the UN resolutions on Cyprus and supporting the mission of Good Offices of the UN Secretary-General. It augurs well, that the new Ambassador of China to Cyprus, Huang Xingyuan, recently stated that China “as a permanent member of the UN Security Council will continue to support Cyprus in achieving national reunification at an early date and is ready to work with the international community to play an active role in the final settlement of this issue”.
This active role of China in the final settlement of the reunification issue, as well as the expressed wish of Russia to participate in an international conference on the question of security and guarantees strengthens the hand of President Anastasiades on this question. In this respect, it should be mentioned that during the visit of the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault to Cyprus, last October, France made a proposal to the same effect. At the highest level, French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Friday (December 9) in Nicosia that, “France is willing, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to play a useful role in the process for the resolution of the Cyprus problem,” adding that France “is ready to respond accordingly.”
Cyprus on its part firmly supports the principle of “One China” and as a member of the European Union is China’s defender on issues of capital importance to China, as the question of Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, the lifting of the arms embargo by the EU against China etc. Needless to mention, that on many international issues China and Cyprus see eye to eye.
The commercial relations enjoy a high level of activity (their total import and export value reached USD 640 mln in 2015), but there is room for further expansion, particularly in the field of shipping, through the use of Cypriot ports by the commercial fleet of China. It is most encouraging that Ambassador Xingyuan expressed his sincere wish to double, during his term of office, the bilateral trade volume and China’s total investment to Cyprus.
The excellent bilateral relations are also confirmed by the exchange of high level visits. All Cypriot Presidents have visited China and Foreign Ministers and high level officials from China visited Nicosia, with a view to fostering the cooperation between the two governments. As a result, these reciprocal visits have contributed to the further strengthening of our bilateral relations and the friendship between the two countries. This has been recently recognised by Ambassador Xingyuan, who mentioned that, “the historic visit of President Nicos Anastasiades to China and his successful meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping has injected a strong impetus into the development of China-Cyprus relations”. Last, but not least, mention should be made of the hard work undertaken by the Chinese embassy in Nicosia and the Cypriot embassy in Beijing, with a view to enhancing the cooperation of the two countries in all fields.
Concluding, we observe that it is mainly mutual understanding that has nourished the friendly relations of China and Cyprus. The most encouraging results obtained so far constitute a guarantee of their further expansion in all fields, which will certainly benefit the peoples of China and Cyprus in the years to come.
