EU, China share common goal in striving for stable ties: Premier

Premier Li Qiang warned against politicizing economic issues or using security as an excuse to block economic cooperation when he met with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

Li said that win-win cooperation is the foundation of China-European Union relations. As two major forces in a multipolar world and two engines for global development, China and the EU should further unite and cooperate to counter the uncertainties of the world with a stable bilateral relationship, he said.

China is willing to work with the EU to hold the China-EU Leaders' Meeting later this year, deepen mutual trust and properly handle differences through communication and consultation, and jointly make more positive contributions to global peace and development, said the premier.

He pointed out that risk prevention and cooperation are not contradictory to each other, and interdependence should not be equated with insecurity.

China's development and opening-up will bring opportunities, rather than risks, to Europe and the world, Li said.

Noting that China is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with the EU for reliable and stable economic and trade ties, the premier expressed hope that the EU will uphold the principle of market economy and fair competition, maintain an open trade and investment market, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Europe.

China is willing to further deepen the partnership with the EU on green development, strengthen dialogue and cooperation in areas such as clean energy and green finance, and make joint effort to support developing countries in addressing climate change, he added.

Von der Leyen said that, since the beginning of this year, exchanges between the EU and China have been continuously strengthened, and positive results have been achieved.

The EU is willing to enhance dialogue and cooperation with China in various fields and jointly address global challenges such as climate change, she said.