Chinese FM wraps up Europe tour, calls for stronger cooperation, unity, openness

BEIJING -- China stands firm as a force for stability in a turbulent world, and it maintains that major countries should promote their cooperation based on mutual respect and trust, tackle hotspot issues via dialogue and consultation, enhance global governance through unity and coordination and boost global growth with openness and mutual benefit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters Wednesday as he wrapped up his 6-day Europe tour.

CHINA: PROMOTER OF WORLD PEACE

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC) where he delivered a speech at the event on China and elaborated on China's position on major international issues in light of the conference's theme, visited Spain and France, and held the China-France Strategic Dialogue in France from Feb. 16 to 21.

The annual report of the MSC this year reflected Europe's pessimism about the international situation and highlighted significant challenges facing the world today, Wang told reporters on Wednesday.

The risk of a 'lose-lose' situation aggravates with heavy global governance deficit, escalation of tensions at regional hotspots, surge of zero-sum games, and impulse to decouple and cut off industrial and supply chains, he said.

The MSC held a session dedicated to China, during which we sent a clear message that China will firmly act as a force for stability in a turbulent world, he added.

On the sidelines of the MSC, Wang had extensive contacts with officials from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, Canada, Argentina and Ukraine.

During the candid, substantive and constructive discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Wang stressed that the U.S. side should view China's development objectively and rationally, adopt a positive and pragmatic policy towards China, and earnestly implement the consensus between the two heads of state reached at the San Francisco summit.

When meeting officials of other countries, the Chinese top diplomat reiterated that the development of China means growth of force for peace and stability and more opportunities for cooperation.

China stands firm as a promoter of world peace, a contributor to global development and a provider of public goods, Wang said.

On the Ukraine crisis, Wang said that political solution is the only way forward. "We should not give up promoting peace talks as long as there is a glimmer of hope," he said, adding that China will continue to play a constructive role in restoring peace and support building a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has already killed nearly 30,000 civilians and displaced some 1.9 million people, Wang said that the root cause of the conflict is the persistent failure to meet the Palestinian aspiration for statehood.

The position of China is clear -- cease-fire immediately, ensure humanitarian assistance, release all detainees, convene an international peace conference, and relaunch the two-state solution, with the ultimate goal of peaceful coexistence of the two states and harmonious coexistence of the Arab and Israeli people, he said.

PARTNERSHIP: KEYNOTE IN CHINA-EUROPE RELATIONS

On China-EU relations, Wang said Wednesday that both sides, should make partnership and cooperation as the mainstay of their relations, seek common ground while shelving and narrowing differences so as to push their relations steadily forward.

In Spain, Wang met with King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, during which the Spanish side expressed willingness to consolidate traditional friendship and deepen practical cooperation.

In France, with which China celebrates the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year, Wang met with President Emmanuel Macron and co-chaired the 25th China-France Strategic Dialogue with French President's Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne. Wang also held discussions with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in Munich.

The two sides agreed to exchange high-level visits, strengthen strategic communication, reject "decoupling" and cut off industrial and supply chains, deepen traditional cooperation, and expand cooperation in emerging fields.

Wang said that China and Europe have resumed in-person exchanges at various levels and fully activated dialogues and cooperation in various fields since last year, which "demonstrates a stable performance with positive momentum for growth in bilateral relations."

"I noticed a growth of rational perception of China among Europeans, as they see China's development in line with the logic of history, which should not be feared or rejected by Europe," Wang said.

The European side is positive about strengthening exchanges at various levels with China, and enthusiastic about deepening practical cooperation with China, as it expects more concrete results from bilateral operation in such fields as economy and trade, energy, green development, digitization, education and people-to-people exchanges, said Wang.

"We'd like to share the opportunities of the large-scale Chinese market with Europe, and welcome Europe to actively participate in China's high-level institutional opening-up," said Wang, voicing China's continuous efforts in liberalizing market access, benchmarking international trade rules, and clearing up obstacles for foreigners coming to China.

Europeans from all walks of life clearly oppose "decoupling," and people of insights have started to reflect on the risks brought by "de-risking," he said, highlighting the fact that interdependence between countries based on mutual trust is conducive to complementary advantages and to faster common development.

Europe takes an important place in China's major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and it is also a key partner for China to realize modernization, he said, adding that stronger China-Europe cooperation will nip a potential new "Cold War" in the bud and stifle bloc confrontation.