Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK) Zheng Zeguang on Tuesday called for deeper cooperation to elevate economic and trade ties between China and Northern Ireland to a higher level when delivering a keynote speech at the China-Northern Ireland Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum in Belfast.

Zheng stressed that China will continue to take economic development as its central task, focus on promoting high-quality growth, and make new and important contributions to global economic development.

China will firmly advance high-standard opening up, steadily expand institutional opening up, and promote comprehensive trials and demonstrations for expanding opening up of the service sector, he said, noting that China's development will continue to inject certainty and positive energy into the world.

Zheng spoke highly of the fruitful results achieved in recent years between China and Northern Ireland in economy, trade, investment, education, culture and tourism.

He encouraged people from all walks of life in Northern Ireland to seize the historic opportunities brought by China's 15th Five-Year Plan period, which emphasizes innovation-driven growth, expanding domestic demand, green transition and open cooperation.

He expressed the hope that business communities on both sides would deepen the synergy between key industries, expand two-way investment, facilitate communication and cooperation, consolidate the foundation of friendly cooperation, and further tap into the potential for cooperation, so as to elevate the economic and trade ties to a higher level and deliver more tangible benefits to the peoples of both China and the United Kingdom.

During the opening ceremony, the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and Invest Northern Ireland signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation.

More than 400 representatives from the Northern Ireland government, media, business communities from both China and the United Kingdom, among others, took part.