Senior Chinese diplomat says trip to Asian, European countries produces key consensus

BEIJING -- Senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi has said that his visits to Myanmar, Spain and Greece have deepened mutual trust, expanded cooperation, and produced multiple important consensus.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks on Friday in a written interview with Xinhua after he wrapped up the visits to the three countries.

KEY CONSENSUS

Firstly, the trip has consolidated political mutual trust, said Yang, adding that China and Myanmar have agreed to maintain close high-level contact, implement the agreement reached during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the country in January, as well as study and formulate an action plan to build the China-Myanmar community with a shared future.

China and Spain agree to further step up political dialogue and the synergy of policies so as to upgrade the level of strategic cooperation, he said, adding that the Greek side pledges to continue to prioritize its cooperation with China.

Yang also said that the three countries hailed the progress China has made in containing the COVID-19 outbreak and in resuming work and production, view China as an opportunity for development, and are ready to maintain high-level exchanges in various ways to constantly consolidate strategic mutual trust.

Secondly, the visits have deepened mutually beneficial trust, Yang said, adding that China and Myanmar have decided to actively push forward the construction of the Myanmar-China Economic Corridor so as to take bilateral economic and trade cooperation up to a new level.

He also said that China and Spain agreed to further align their strategies for economic recovery, and deepen cooperation in exports of agricultural products, renewable energy, smart cities, electric cars, e-commerce and digital communications, adding that China and Greece agreed to further push forward the Piraeus port cooperation project.

Yang said that the third consensus during his visits this time is to push forward anti-epidemic cooperation, adding that the Chinese side and the three countries have exchanged their views on their respective epidemic situation, and their measures to contain the outbreak, and that the three countries agreed that China has stood with them in their battle against the epidemic.

He also noted that China and the three countries have agreed to step up their cooperation in the fight against the virus, the development of vaccines and drugs, as well as the production and sales of anti-epidemic supplies, and to jointly support the leading role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the world's fight to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fourthly, the trip has promoted their people-to-people and cultural exchanges, said Yang. He said that all sides agreed to take an objective and inclusive attitude towards the differences regarding their cultures and social systems, step up dialogues and exchanges, and boost harmonious development in a bid to push for new progress and civilizational advancement of the human race.

Yang said the fifth consensus is to jointly preserve peace and development, adding that China and the three countries conducted deep exchanges related to major regional and global affairs of common concern, and agreed that the international community should uphold multilateralism, safeguard the development rights of people in all countries, and jointly cope with global challenges.

NEIGHBORHOOD DIPLOMACY

Yang said that during his visit to Myanmar, he had an in-depth exchange of views with the Myanmar side on developing relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and that the two sides have reached multiple consensus.

Noting that Myanmar is an important ASEAN member, he said China attaches great importance to ASEAN and takes ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy.

The senior Chinese official said China firmly supports ASEAN in its effort to grow more united and stronger, adding that China-ASEAN relations are a driving force for regional development and prosperity.

Noting that next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a dialogue partnership between China and ASEAN, Yang said that bilateral cooperation enjoys huge potential and broad prospects.

He called on the two sides to deepen their relations in a number of areas, saying that the first is to enhance political mutual trust, and to work together to implement the important consensus reached between Xi and the leaders of the ASEAN countries.

Secondly, he said the two sides should promote mutually beneficial development, and further align the Belt and Road Initiative with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.

Thirdly, Yang said the two sides should work closely in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that they should actively promote joint prevention and control, and strengthen cooperation in research and development of vaccines and medicines.

The fourth is to maintain regional stability, said Yang, adding that China is willing to maintain close coordination and cooperation with ASEAN on international, regional and global issues, support multilateralism, preserve regional peace and stability, and safeguard international fairness and justice.

CHINA-EU TIES

China and the European Union (EU) should strengthen the political guidance for their bilateral relations and take the ties to a new level, said Yang.

Noting that China and Europe are two major forces, two major markets and two major civilizations in the world today, Yang said the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership is one of China's most important foreign relations.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU diplomatic relations, Yang noted, adding that both sides should take this as an opportunity, work together to meet each other halfway and take China-EU relations to a new level.

First, the two sides should strengthen the political guidance for bilateral relations, enhance political mutual trust, converge common ground and resolve differences, he said.

The second is to make the pie of common interests bigger and further expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment, he said, adding that the third is to advance green development and digital economy cooperation.

Fourth, both sides should beef up cooperation in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, facilitate personnel exchanges in the context of the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, help boost the resumption of work and production, and stabilize the global industrial and supply chains, he said.

Fifth, he called on both sides to firmly uphold multilateralism, strengthen communication on improving global governance, promote sustainable development, resolve global and regional hotspot issues, maintain close coordination on the reform of the UN Security Council, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the WHO, and jointly safeguard and practice multilateralism.

CALL FOR MULTILATERALISM

Upholding multilateralism still represents a compelling consensus shared by the international community and corresponds with the aspiration of countries, Yang said.

For some time, the headwinds of unilateralism and protectionism have disrupted and damaged international coordination and cooperation, casting a shadow on the economic and social development of countries across the world, he said.

Yet, he noted that multilateralism constitutes an important foundation for the operation and development of multilateral mechanisms after World War II, a prerequisite for promoting global governance and an effective way to safeguard world peace and bolster common development.

China, Yang said, has always maintained that the international order is by no means an order where some countries are above others.

Sovereign equality and multilateralism still remain the mainstream in today's world, he added.

In the interview, Yang also called for firmly upholding multilateralism, safeguarding the international order and system with the United Nations at its core and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as its foundation.

Noting that some countries attribute their own problems to globalization, even shift the blame to others, incite the Cold War mentality and create estrangement and confrontations among countries, Yang said such acts are totally wrong and their attempts will never succeed.

Yang said during his visit, leaders of Myanmar, Spain and Greece all expressed their hope to strengthen communication and cooperation with China in improving global governance and jointly support the multilateral system.

The three countries agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that mankind is a community with a shared future, he said, adding that China and the three countries are opposed to politicizing the pandemic and stigmatizing other countries.

China will join the three countries in supporting the WHO in playing a leading role in the global fight against the pandemic, strengthen coordination and cooperation within such multilateral frameworks as the United Nations, the Group of 20 and the WTO, jointly advocate multilateralism and free trade, maintain stability and promote democracy in international relations, and steer the development of the global governance system in a fairer and more equitable direction, Yang said.