XI leaves for Costa Rica, continues Latin American trip

Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his state visit to Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday and left for Costa Rica to continue his Latin American tour. Xi kicked off his visit to Trinidad and Tobago on Friday, the first by a Chinese head of state since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1974. During the visit, Xi met President Anthony Carmona and held talks with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on further bilateral cooperation. The two countries signed a host of cooperation deals covering economy, trade and education. Meeting Carmona Saturday, Xi said that his three-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago is to enhance the two countries' friendly cooperation and consolidate bilateral ties. Carmona said that Trinidad and Tobago hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in such sectors as trade, clean energy and environmental protection. Trinidad and Tobago also welcomes the establishment of a Confucius Institute as an effort to improve cultural exchanges and mutual understanding, Carmona said. During his talks with Persad-Bissessar, Xi said that as the two nations prepare to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year, China is ready to join hands with the Caribbean country to boost bilateral relations. China, he said, will actively consider providing energy-saving products for relevant Caribbean countries, so as to help them enhance abilities to adapt to and cope with climate change. For her part, Persad-Bissessar said Trinidad and Tobago is willing to bolster exchanges with China, advance bilateral cooperation in various areas and attract more Chinese investment. She said her country also wants to promote people-to-people exchanges with China and enhance cooperation in language training and health care. In Port of Spain, Xi also had bilateral meetings with the leaders of other Caribbean nations, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname and Jamaica. The intensive meetings would help elevate the friendly relations and cooperation between China and Caribbean countries to a new level, analysts said. Costa Rica is the second leg of Xi's three-nation Latin American trip, which will also take him to Mexico. Afterwards, Xi will fly to the U.S. state of California for a summit meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on June 7-8 at Sunnylands, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage. The China-U.S. summit will be the first of its kind since both nations completed their most recent leadership transitions. Xi and Obama are expected to exchange views on domestic and foreign policies, as well as issues of pivotal importance and regional and international issues of common concern, Chinese officials said.