Interview with China International Radio

First of all, I would like to thank you for your time. I would like to ask you, how do you assess the current state of Polish-Chinese relations? Both politically, economically and culturally. And what should be done to make these relations even better?

Thank you. First of all I would like to greet all the listeners. I am very happy to be able to give you a few sentences about Poland's policy and the activities of the parliament. Polish-Chinese relations, especially in the last few years, are finally taking on a fundamental importance. In all the dimensions you mentioned. For 28 years Poland has been an independent, fully sovereign state and it has been surrounded by similar countries in Central Europe. There are more than twenty of them, we count differently. But there are a dozen or so of them which are in a similar situation, which think in terms of cooperation across Central Europe, to find their place in the European Union, in Europe, but also to cooperate with other parts of the world. And here the best example is China. That famous plan to restart infrastructure-based cooperation under the Belt and Road projectIt enjoys great interest in Poland and among our neighbors. This entails the need to strengthen cooperation in all areas. And in the economy - which is to be facilitated by the development of infrastructure. But also cultural cooperation. The development of infrastructure must also serve this purpose, so that we can communicate not only through the Internet. And also political cooperation in its broadest sense. I see a very important role here for the Polish Sejm and Senate.

Within the framework of the "Belt and Road" project and "16+1" cooperation, what are the perspectives for cooperation between Poland and China? In what areas can we expect cooperation?

I think this is one of the most important areas of our activities and I am very pleased that both the authorities of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Poland are interested in developing this cooperation. We have seen for several years that there was a certain political void in Central and Eastern Europe. Our neighbors thought about cooperation, but lacked initiative. I think that such an initiative, to act together, appeared on the part of China, so that we could organize cooperation within the framework of sixteen Central European countries plus China. It is an important thing, because Poland is located in the center of intersecting natural trade and economic routes. North-south, east-west. It can be said that Łódź, one of the biggest cities, is naturally predestined for this. The ambitious plan to create a large intercontinental airport between Warsaw and Łódź, which the Polish government is trying to implement, may serve this purpose. Large development and infrastructural plans, construction of freeways in the north-south and east-west directions may serve this purpose. The modernization of railroads, fast international and intercontinental railroads can also serve this purpose. Cooperation with China, the largest country in the world, seems natural. We remember the times several centuries ago when these forms of cooperation and trade gave the old Republic of Poland, from the times of the Jagiellons and Vasa, very good results for the whole of Central Europe. One could say that for the whole of Europe. In this respect, we are optimistic and hopeful about the development of these relations.

Have you been to China? What was your impression?

I have not been in China yet, but the parliamentary cooperation between China and Poland is developing very well. In recent years, I have visited, for example, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Environmental Protection Committee of the Polish Sejm. Our parliamentarians were received very well. They got to know the issues and see that there are many possibilities for cooperation in these areas. In the field of environmental protection, in the field of various forms of new energy. To seek solutions that find answers to the challenges we face. The world's population is growing and energy resources are shrinking. Therefore, the challenges are enormous. Poland, like our neighbors, is a producer of very good food. Please note that In comparison with Western European countries, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Polish agriculture uses three times less protection agents and artificial fertilizers. It means that we are inherently an organic producer of organic food. This provides great opportunities for markets. I encourage you to look at Poland this way. Environmentally and ecologically Poland is not a destroyed country. Polish soil is very good and therefore it is worth cooperating with us.

This week, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China will visit Poland and sign a memorandum of cooperation. In what field will there be cooperation between the Chinese and Polish parliaments and what is the significance of this visit?

We are very pleased with the arrival of the Chinese delegation headed by Chairman Zhang Dejiang. We have meetings with him, we will show what is most beautiful in Poland. Also the beautiful Polish music of Fryderyk Chopin, but we will sign a very important memorandum, a cooperation agreement. We regard it as a form of agreement on strategic cooperation between parliaments. It concerns faster and stronger development of cooperation between the Seym of the Republic of Poland and the Parliament of the People's Republic of China. It concerns the exchange of experience, working meetings, as well as substantive meetings of parliamentary committees, teams and problem-solving groups. We hope that this cooperation will translate from bilateral to multilateral relations. It will also help the parliaments of these sixteen Central European countries to become more involved in cooperation with the Chinese Parliament and to achieve greater results. In our countries, parliaments are elected by the people, so they are representatives of the people, of the sovereign. Therefore, it is extremely important to involve parliamentarians in various forms of state, economic, security, cultural, environmental cooperation, and all other areas of our activity. In this way, parliamentarians will be able to promote these forms of cooperation in Poland and in other countries of Central Europe, and this is something we care about very much.