Chinese, Ukrainian FMs vow to advance ties Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara during the 68th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara at the United Nations headquarters in New York Wednesday. Wang said Ukraine is an important cooperative partner for China in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe. He said since the two countries established strategic partnership in 2011, bilateral relations have entered a new period of rapid development. Wang said both sides should plan the development of their ties from a strategic, long-term perspective, seize opportunities and explore the potential to turn close political ties into pragmatic cooperation in every field, so as to elevate the partnership to higher levels continuously. Kozhara said Ukraine attaches great importance to its ties with China, and the development of the ties is better than expected, with increasingly frequent high-level exchanges and increasingly solid political foundations. He said as China has become Ukraine's second largest trading partner, the bilateral economic and trade relations are facing new opportunities. Ukraine hopes for more investment from China and stronger trade ties, he added.