EU-China summit key moment to strengthen relations: Mogherini

BRUSSELS - Foreign policy chief of EU Federica Mogherini said visiting China in the first months of her mandate was a priority and she would be in Bejing for the 40th anniversary of EU-China relations.

"In 1975 we started to build our partnership on trade and economic relations. Since then, the world evolved, globalized, and so did our relations," explained Mogherini during an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"The upcoming EU-China summit will be a key moment to strengthen and expand our relations," Mogherini told Xinhua.

The management of crisis would be in the agenda of the talks in Beijing, she added.

"I also look forward to discussing how we can enhance our cooperation to bring an end to a number of crises and how we can prevent others. This should be a new way of dealing with complexity: thinking strategically, looking at worrying signs that emerge and trying to prevent crises," she said, referring to the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Libya.

According to Mogherini, the EU and China have started fruitful relations in defense and security. "We will discuss how we can build on our successful cooperation on fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden and enhance our coordination in addressing the root causes of piracy," she explained.

Asked about the role of China on the main international dossiers, starting from the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, Mogherini said: "It is not for me to define China's role, but I can tell you that the EU-China strategic partnership aims to promote peace, prosperity, sustainable development and people-to-people exchanges for the benefit of both partners and the rest of the world."

Mogherini gave two examples on which the EU wanted to work closely with China at the global level: environmental sustainability and climate change agreements.

Mogherini said she was thankful for China's role in the Iran nuclear negotiations: "I really appreciated the work of China during the negotiations on the key parameters of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of action on which we will now build to prepare the final deal."

"All parties including China are committed and working hard to find solutions towards reaching a comprehensive resolution that will ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program. I am looking forward to discussing it, amongst other issues, with Chinese authorities," she said.