Premier vows that China will not target interests of third parties

China will not take advantage of any third party or target their interests, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday, noting that trade disputes are an issue between China and the United States.

Li made the remarks in response to a question on whether China-US trade talks have an impact on China-Europe relations at a news conference after the second session of the 13th National People's Congress closed on Friday.

Noting that China is the world's largest developing country and the European Union is the largest union of developed countries, he called for China and Europe to strengthen mutual trust and treat each other in an open-minded way.

China and the Europe are each other's largest trading partners, Li said, and there has been cooperation as well as friction in their relations.

The two sides should continue to apply, in their ties, the good experience gained in managing their differences over the past years, he said.

The premier said ongoing negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty are aimed to further facilitate the two-way flow of investment so that both sides will benefit from this agreement on an equal footing.

We should properly handle our differences in the course of pursuing cooperation so that our relationship will continue with its steady growth, Li said.

Li also announced that he will make a visit to Europe next month to hold the next round of the China-EU summit with EU leaders.

"I hope that both sides will view this relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective and continue to show mutual respect, deepen mutual understanding, and advance cooperation in joint pursuit of sustained healthy growth of our relations," he said.