China backs more active international role for Cyprus, ambassador says

China supports Cyprus playing a more active role in its region and internationally, Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus Yang Yundong told the Cyprus Forum in Nicosia. Yang said the two countries support each other on issues that matter to them. “Cyprus is committed to supporting the one-China policy. We are committed to supporting Cyprus’s efforts to maintain its security and territorial integrity,” he said. He said Cyprus plays a very important role in the region and shares China’s values, backing multilateralism and upholding the UN Charter with the aim of building a fair and equitable international order. “Cyprus has helped many countries evacuate their citizens from conflict zones. It has provided the necessary humanitarian aid to conflict areas. These actions have earned Cyprus international recognition,” Yang said. He described Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of the year as successful, saying it played an important role in advancing the EU’s international affairs. He also called Cyprus a “safe harbour” in the Mediterranean, praising its developed shipping sector, and said the island was a very popular tourist destination. Investment concerns Turning to EU security concerns over Chinese investment in European infrastructure, Yang said China always respects every country’s security concerns. He pointed to Chinese investment in the port of Piraeus in Greece, which he said had been in decline before Chinese management took over. “We turned it into a modern port, one of the largest in the Mediterranean,” he said, adding that it had climbed from 90th to 25th place worldwide. “Cooperation with China has no negative effects, but benefits the local economy and creates jobs.” Business opportunities Asked about opportunities for Cypriot companies in China, Yang said China welcomes them and offers international businesses major opportunities. “We have had the second-largest import market for 17 consecutive years, we have a population of 1.4 billion and 400 million people on middle incomes. It is a very promising market. In the first five months of 2026, China’s imports rose by 20 per cent, faster than China’s exports,” he said. China’s services sector is also growing fast, he said, with services imports up 65 per cent over the past five years. He also pointed to rising outbound tourism and to Chinese students studying abroad. Yang said China has invested heavily in high technology, encouraging the rapid growth of companies in the sector. “China has created all the necessary infrastructure for high-tech companies that want to operate in the country,” he said. Global initiative Yang said China presented its global initiative last year and that the international community had received it very positively. Cyprus and China face common challenges and should work together to promote trust between civilisations “within a fair and equitable system of global governance”, he said. “We would like to implement this global initiative together,” he added. Bilateral ties Asked about his expectations ahead of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and China, Yang said: “We have built a very reliable relationship of mutual trust and, although we differ in size and background, we respect each other.” He said President Nikos Christodoulides, speaking at an event organised by the embassy, had described Cyprus as an important partner of China that supports China-EU relations. Yang proposed stepping up high-level contacts between the two countries, as well as contacts between their peoples.