Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Thongsavanh Phomvihane in Beijing on Friday, calling on both countries to expand cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence and the digital economy.
Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that as socialist comrades and brothers, China and Laos should earnestly implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders of the two parties and countries, intensify high-level exchange, deepen political mutual trust, and work together to safeguard security and development interests.
Ding called on both countries to strengthen their development strategy alignment, advance the construction of the China-Laos Economic Corridor, and improve the quality and efficiency of the China-Laos Railway.
Thongsavanh congratulated China on its successful convening of the "two sessions," noting that Laos firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests.
Laos is willing to deepen its comprehensive, practical cooperation with China and push the construction of a Laos-China community with a shared future to a new level.
Chinese vice premier calls for greater cooperation with Laos on AI, digital economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin supports the position of U.S. President Donald Trump on a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but has concerns over remaining unresolved issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Despite that there are still lots to be done, the Russian president expressed solidarity with Mr. Trump's position, the spokesman said, adding that there were grounds for "cautious optimism" regarding a settlement of the conflict.
The spokesman confirmed that the Russian president held talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff late on Thursday, adding that once the U.S. diplomat shared remaining details with Trump, it would be possible to determine a potential time for the two presidents to talk.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Putin said Russia is "in favor" of the 30-day ceasefire plan proposed by the U.S. and Ukraine, but that nuances exist.
Trump said later on Thursday that he saw "good signals" toward finalizing the ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
The U.S. has reached a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine and is now negotiating a similar deal with Russia, Trump said Friday, adding that further details will be released on Monday.
On the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. is "cautiously optimistic" about resolving the conflict, but he admitted that the ceasefire discussions are "a difficult and complex situation", describing it as a "long journey."
Rubio called on both Russia and Ukraine to make certain concessions to help resolve the conflict.
Responding to Putin's remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian leader is setting many preconditions to delay the ceasefire for as long as possible.
He also emphasized the need for the U.S. to apply pressure on Russia to take significant steps toward ending the war.
Putin backs Trump's stance on Ukraine settlement, but says "unresolved issues" remain: Kremlin
