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From February 16 to 21, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and head of the Communist Party of China, was invited to attend the 60th Munich Security Conference held in Germany, and visited Spain and France. Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit will not only promote the development of China-Europe relations at the bilateral level; It is also conducive to injecting positive energy into the joint efforts of China and the EU to deal with the chaos and provide a new direction for overcoming difficulties together. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the "China Session" of the Munich Security Conference, a more stable and closer China-EU relationship will not only achieve each other, but also illuminate the world.
Spain is an important EU country and a comprehensive strategic partner of China. Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Spain coincides with the beginning of China's Year of the Dragon and the 50th anniversary of China-Spain relations. Over the past half century, political mutual trust between China and the West has been consolidated. In 2018, China and Spain issued a joint statement, marking a new era of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership. In November 2022, the leaders of China and Spain successfully met in Bali. At the end of March 2023, Prime Minister Sanchez attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 and paid an official visit to China. Economic and trade cooperation between China and Spain has developed steadily. China is Spain's largest partner outside the EU, and Spain is China's fifth largest partner in the EU. In 2022, the amount of bilateral goods between China and Spain exceeded US$50 billion for the first time. Spain has participated in the CIIE for six consecutive years, and ham, red wine, olive oil and other products have become the "star products" of the Expo, beauty products, textiles and apparel are increasingly popular with Chinese consumers, and high value-added products such as large machine tools have attracted much attention. It is believed that the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister to Spain for the first time in nearly six years will help further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Spain, continue the friendly atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, consolidate mutual trust, enhance friendship and expand cooperation, and inject new connotations into the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership.
China and France are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and independent powers. The year 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Not long ago, the heads of state of China and France exchanged congratulatory messages and delivered speeches, emphasizing that the two sides should work together to build a stronger and more dynamic China-France comprehensive strategic partnership facing the next 60 years. As independent major countries with global influence, China and France have worked closely together to address global challenges, jointly promote democracy in international relations, and safeguard international fairness and justice. In 2015, China and France worked together with the international community to reach the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, injecting positive energy into global climate governance. In 2019, China and France held a forum on global governance in Paris to hold high the banner of multilateralism and jointly implement a fairer and more effective global governance plan. At present, in the face of the resurgence of the Cold War mentality and the rising danger of bloc confrontation, China and France should strengthen dialogue and cooperation and work together to shape a peaceful, stable, equal and orderly multipolar world. As the first important visit between China and France this year, Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold bilateral meetings with the French side during his visit to France, and hold a new round of China-France strategic dialogue with France's leading foreign affairs adviser, Jean-Claude Berne. Prior to his visit to France, Foreign Minister Wang Yi had met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Céjourne on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, and the French side said that "it will continue to adhere to strategic autonomy and oppose 'decoupling and chain breaking'". Through Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit, China and France will further deepen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, strengthen communication and cooperation on multilateral issues, jointly lead China-EU relations to steady and long-term development, and make positive contributions to world peace, stability, development and progress.
As a stabilizing force in the world, China and the EU should work together to address challenges. The year 2023 is of great significance in the history of China-EU relations, as China and the EU celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and the leaders of the two sides met face-to-face for the first time in three years, leading the calibration of China-EU relations to a new course. Continuing the good momentum of interaction between China and the EU last year, China and the EU have recently resumed exchanges at all levels and achieved positive results. During his meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany is willing to make good preparations with China for this year's high-level exchanges and promote more substantive results. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell also expressed his support for the "development of EU-China relations". He made it clear that he supports normal economic and trade exchanges between the EU and China, advocates managing the differences between the two sides, and opposes "decoupling" from China. We stand ready to strengthen cooperation with China on multilateral affairs and jointly address global challenges such as climate change. As the two major powers, two major markets and two major civilizations in a multipolar world, China and the EU should join hands to learn from and inherit the development experience of the past 20 years, respect each other's core concerns, adhere to the theme of partnership and win-win cooperation, prepare for the next China-EU summit, give full play to the role of dialogue mechanisms in various fields such as strategy, economy and trade, green and digital, strengthen cooperation in response to climate change and artificial intelligence, and create highlights of people-to-people and cultural exchanges. We will provide more convenience for people-to-people exchanges between the two sides and push forward the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.
The more turbulent the international situation, the more important it is for major countries to strengthen coordination; The more prominent the risks and challenges, the more important it is for major countries to enhance cooperation. China and the EU have the responsibility to work together to provide more stability to the world, and we look forward to China and the EU working together to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world, so that every country can have its own place in the global multipolar system, promote economic globalization that benefits all and inclusive, and make the cake of cooperation bigger for common development and prosperity. (Chen Yang).
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