Diplomatic contacts between China and the European Union (EU) accelerated this week. Senior Chinese and European diplomats held a series of meetings to promote free trade and multilateralism.
Earlier in the week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held separate telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of Poland and Germany and met with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen in Beijing. Also on the agenda is a two-day visit to China by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, which starts on Wednesday. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, and leaders from both sides exchanged congratulatory messages earlier this month. In a telephone conversation with Germany’s new foreign minister Johann Wadephul, Wang Yi said that he expected Germany to play a constructive role as an important EU country. Referring to the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into China’s electric vehicles, Wang called for resolving this issue through dialogue. Wadephul emphasized that Germany supports the resolution of differences through consultation and is ready to contribute to EU-China negotiations. In his meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Wang said he expected Poland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, to play a more constructive role in the development of China-EU relations. Sikorski, for his part, expressed his determination to deepen Poland-China relations and push forward EU-China cooperation. Chinese officials and experts say that China and the EU have broad common interests and the need for mutual cooperation is growing. “As long as we maintain mutual respect and take into account our core interests and sensitivities, we can effectively manage differences,” Lu Shaye, China’s Special Representative for European Affairs, said in an interview with China Media Group.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202505/21/WS682d36e6a310a04af22c0a7e.html
