Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna in Paris, France, on Wednesday. (Photo/Xinhua)
Giving new impetus to Sino-EU ties high on agenda of Wang's France visit
Advancing multilateralism, high-level exchanges and restarting China-France cooperation affected by the COVID-19 epidemic were among the key areas of consensus reached during senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi's latest visit to France.
Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, arrived in Paris on Wednesday.
He met respectively with French President Emmanuel Macron and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna on Wednesday in Paris.
Wang said Beijing is ready to work with Paris to give new impetus to China-Europe ties while making fresh contributions to advancing international cooperation and the joint response to global challenges.
Macron said that faced with an increasingly complex international situation, Paris and Beijing should work together to champion stability and balance in the world, adhere to multilateralism, reject bloc-based confrontation and prevent divisions in the international community.
France looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in areas such as climate change, biodiversity and marine conservation, he added.
The two sides also had an "in-depth exchange of views over the Ukraine issue", according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Wang stressed that China upholds a position of objectivity and fairness and has always been dedicated to promoting peace talks.
China values the role of France as a self-reliant major country, and is ready to work with the international community, including France, to jointly explore a political path for the resolution of the Ukraine issue and to achieve a cease fire at an early date, he added.
France is the first leg of Wang's ongoing tour of Europe, which will also take him to Italy, Hungary, Russia and the 59th Munich Security Conference in Germany.
During his meeting with Macron, Wang said China has always viewed France as a priority cooperation partner, and is willing to work with Paris to "intensify high-level contacts and open up new prospects for bilateral relations".
The French president said that he looks forward to having pleasant and friendly talks with President Xi Jinping, to jointly promote cooperation and work for a better future.
Macron underscored that France attaches great importance to ties with China, saying that he believes that a reinforced strategic dialogue between the two countries is of great significance.
In the first nine months of last year, trade between the two countries reached around $80 billion, accounting for 10 percent of total trade between China and Europe.
During the same period last year, French investment in China grew 19.7 percent, while Chinese investment in France rose 40 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
However, some countries including France have recently imposed quarantine restrictions on travelers arriving from China.
"Such practices have no grounds in science and are clearly discriminatory," Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye told a reception this month, urging Paris to "overcome obstacles and achieve greater development" of bilateral ties.
On Wednesday, Wang noted that the two countries exchanged assistance in the joint fight against COVID-19, the Chinese economy is recovering rapidly and China is ready to work with France to "restart exchanges in various fields".
He expressed Beijing's readiness to hold a new round of talks in the two nations' high-level cultural exchange mechanism at an early date and offer more convenience for the exchange of visits between the two nations.
Colonna, the French foreign minister, said she was glad that China overcame the epidemic, which was good news for the whole world, and France looks to greater progress in bilateral cooperation.
Paris is ready to restore the functioning of two-way dialogue mechanisms while exploring new areas for cooperation, taking ties with Beijing to a new level, she added.
In particular, she underscored her hope that flights between the two countries could be restored to their level prior to the start of the pandemic.
Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Wang proposed that the two sides could map out plans together to commemorate the anniversary and further strengthen goodwill between the two nations.
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