BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao met with Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna in Beijing on Wednesday, calling for more cooperation between China and the Eastern European country.

China-Poland relations have developed steadily since they forged diplomatic ties, Li said, expressing hope that the two sides will maintain high-level exchanges and give full play to their intergovernmental cooperation committee.

Li called for expanding cooperation in areas including trade, finance and environmental protection.

Schetyna said Poland is willing to cooperate more with China in economy, science and technology and culture.

Poland will actively participate in construction of the Belt and Road proposed by China and promote cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, he said.

The Belt and Road Initiative, referring to international trade networks the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his Central and Southeast Asia visit in late 2013.

Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Schetyna co-hosted the first plenary session of the China-Poland Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee.