Polish President Andrzej Duda met with Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday during his visit to Beijing to watch the Olympics. According to the Communist Party newspaper Global Times, the two discussed bilateral practical cooperation around issues such as trade and investment, transportation and logistics, and emerging technologies.

The Polish leader also reportedly discussed Poland’s opposition to Russian demands for a reversal of NATO expansion in Central and Eastern Europe.

China had previously expressed support for Russia’s position after a highly publicized meeting between Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday.

Despite the apparent disagreement, Duda’s foreign policy advisor, Jakub Kumoch, said Poland ultimately wanted “the best possible relations with China, and we can see a similar interest on the Chinese side.”

Source: Radio Poland, AP News

Poland has officially entered the Olympic medals race after Polish ski jumper Dawid Kubacki took bronze in the men’s normal hill individual event on Sunday.

Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi easily took home the gold ahead of Austria’s Manuel Fettner. Kubacki’s teammate Kamil Stoch was in 6th place after the first series, with Piotr Żyła 21st and Stefan Hula in 26th.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki congratulated the ski jumper via social media, noting that it was the first medal for Poland at the Winter Olympics and writing that “nothing was impossible” for a Polish team who “fights with dedication until the very end.”

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland

Ukrainian officials recently announced the removal of all transit restrictions for rail freight moving through Ukraine to Poland as of February 10.

Rail shipments have effectively been halted since November 30, officially due to maintenance upgrades to the Ukrainian rail infrastructure. Unofficial sources, however, suggest the blockade was an attempt to exert pressure on Poland over freight permits.

The ban reportedly had a significant impact on goods traveling into Poland from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

The blockade was one of the issues discussed last week during Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s visit to Kyiv. Poland’s Minister for Infrastructure, Andrzej Adamczyk, also met Ukrainian officials recently in Krasiczyn, later tweeting thanks to his Ukrainian counterparts “for a good conversation.”

Source: Radio Poland

LOT Polish Airlines recently published its figures for 2021, showing the national carrier to be improving its presence in tourist transport despite the effects of the pandemic on international travel.

Last year, LOT carried out over 54 thousand flights on 151 routes, visiting 109 airports and transporting close to 4.2 million passengers for a total distance of 80 million kilometers (~50 million miles).

The number of passengers on flights to North America (New York and Chicago) returned to 2019 levels after travel restrictions were lifted. Demand for travel to destinations in Asia such as Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing remains low.

In Europe, Paris and Vilnius were among the top choices, while the Albanian capital of Tirana proved the most popular holiday destination.

Although the travel market did not bounce back as expected in 2021, LOT realized four times as many holiday charter flights compared to the previous year after the airline began cooperating with travel bureaus to expand charter operations.

Source: Radio Poland

Officials from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management have issued a second-degree flood warning for areas along the Pomeranian coast.

The high-water warning will remain in effect until 11 pm tonight and includes a strong wind advisory for the coastal poviats of Nowodworski, Kartuzy, Wejherowo, Puck, Lębork, Słupsk, Gdynia, and Gdańsk.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and cold, with skies clearing and only a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. Winds from the northwest will pick up during the day, keeping temperatures on the chilly side with a high around 4°C, or 40°F, dropping to an overnight low of 1°C or 34°F. Similar temps are expected tomorrow, with a chance for some rain mid-morning and in the early afternoon.

Elizabeth Peck/ua