H.E. Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives and President of the 76th Session of General Assembly of the United Nations, has visited China many times and contributed a lot to China-Maldives relations.
In May 2008, H.E. Shahid visited China as Maldivian Foreign Minister and had a meeting with Chinese State Councilor H.E. Dai Bingguo. Dai pointed out that China and Maldives are traditional friendly neighbors, recent years have witnessed deepening political trust, expanding exchanges and cooperation in all areas and mutual support in international and regional affairs. Shahid reiterated Maldivian government's adherence to the one-China policy, and praised China's preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games. He also wished the games a great success.
When Shahid talked with Chinese Foreign Minister H.E. Yang Jiechi, he expressed condolences to the Chinese government and people over the Wenchuan earthquake and donated 50, 000 U.S. dollars in cash to the Chinese side on behalf of the government and people of Maldives. Yang said the Chinese government highly appreciates Maldives' long-standing support on issues involving China's core interests such as Taiwan and human rights. China is ready to work with Maldives to further expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in all areas and push their traditional friendly relations to a new high.
In January of 2011, H.E. Shahid visited China as the speaker of the Maldivian People’s Majlis and had a meeting with H.E. Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China.
Wu said China valued ties with the Maldives and was willing to maintain friendly exchanges and cooperation at all levels in an effort to expand political mutual trust and economic & trade cooperation. Wu suggested the two legislatures promote dialogue and exchanges of views among members on successful experiences of national construction so as to inject new vitality to the development of bilateral relations.
Shahid said the Maldivian people treasured the friendship of the Chinese people, and the rapid growth of the Chinese economy offered inspiration to developing countries, including the Maldives. Shahid pledged that the Maldivian parliament would continue to play a constructive role in promoting bilateral relations.
In September 2019, H.E. Shahid visited China for the third time as Maldivian Foreign Minister. He called on H.E. Wang Qishan, Vice President of China and had fruitful talks with H.E. Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China. The two ministers signed 3 MoUs, covering areas of cooperation between the two foreign ministries, sports as well as economic and technical assistance.
In November 2021, H.E. Shahid visited China as the President of the 76th session of UNGA and had talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Anji County, Zhejiang Province.
Wang pointed out that the UN should be a defender of equity and justice rather than an onlooker of hegemony and bullying, a major platform for practicing multilateralism rather than an arena for superpower games, and a doer of the action to tackle challenges rather than a talking shop full of empty words.
Shahid extended congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations, highly appreciated China's firm support for the United Nations and multilateralism, and positively evaluated China's outstanding leadership in maintaining world peace, promoting common development, and responding to global challenges. This session of the UNGA is ready to enhance coordination with China to jointly maintain fairness and justice, practice multilateralism, respond to global challenges, and help safeguard the UN's authority and credibility.
