China, EU are strategic partners: Foreign minister

China and the European Union are not ideological competitors, but are strategic partners sharing many interests and aspirations, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations, and this tie has stayed generally stable and cooperative throughout decades of changing global political landscape, Wang said.

"The most important lesson from the relationship is that both sides can build mutual trust through fair dialogue, and handle differences through constructive exchanges," he said.

"China and the EU do not have fundamental conflicts of interests. China-EU interactions are a mutually beneficial positive cycle, not a competition where one side loses and the other side wins," the minister said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, both sides have resolutely supported each other's efforts against the disease.

"In this unprecedented crisis, China and Europe should rise above their ideological differences and unshackle from their self-fulfilling suspicions, and work together to tackle the pandemic," Wang said.

This year, China hopes to resume key diplomatic interactions with the European Union. Both sides hope to complete China-EU investment agreements this year, and expand win-win cooperation in interconnectivity, environmental protection, digital economies, artificial intelligence and other fields.

China hopes to use the 45th year anniversary to push China-EU relations to be more stable and mature, Wang said.