9月4日英语新闻音频：China's links with Europe strengthened

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Chinese State Councilor and ForeignMinister Wang Yi walks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to a pressconference in Berlin, Germany, Sept 1, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wangsays 5 nations he visited agreed to reinforce unity, oppose 'decoupling'

China and five European countries haveagreed to strengthen joint efforts to bolster unity and oppose"decoupling" to prevent the world from slipping back into the grip of"the law of the jungle".

The countries voiced a strong appeal tosafeguard multilateralism, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said onTuesday at a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas inBerlin.

Calling for China and Europe to enhancetheir support for multilateral institutions, Wang said both sides also agreedto maintain the overall status of China-EU relations and properly managedifferences.

He said the countries agreed to strengthencooperation between China and Europe in the response to the COVID-19 pandemicand restart personnel exchanges and practical cooperation to contribute toglobal economic recovery.

Germany was the final leg of Wang'seight-day trip－after Italy,the Netherlands, Norway and France－which Wang said involved strategic communication between China andEuropean countries amid rising uncertainties.

The five European countries, which valueties with China, are concerned about the deep recession in the global economycaused by the pandemic, rising unilateralism, attempts to "decouple"and heightened international rivalry, he said.

Wang called for China and Europe tocarefully plan high-level exchanges and urged they finish negotiations over abilateral investment treaty this year and sign a strategic plan for bilateralcooperation for the next five years as soon as possible.

Both sides should also work together firmlyto promote international cooperation to tackle climate change and enhancedigital cooperation, Wang said.

China and Europe have their own advantagesin developing digital economies and share common concerns, Wang said, addingthat they should insist on opening their markets to each other and promote theformulation of global digital standards and rules.

In his talks with Maas in Berlin onTuesday, Wang said China and Europe are partners, not rivals. He said theyshould tolerate and learn from each other and inject more stability into theworld, which is suffering from turmoil.

China and Germany also need to worktogether to oppose a "new Cold War", take concrete actions tomaintain smooth operation of the global supply chain and reject"decoupling" and deglobalization, Wang said.

Maas said during the talks that "decoupling"is not in line with anyone's interests. He said Germany hopes to strengthenpolitical, economic and cultural cooperation with China.

On Tuesday, Wang met with German PresidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier, who reaffirmed his country's adherence to theone-China principle and its position of upholding multilateralism in globalaffairs. Steinmeier said Germany doesn't want the world to be divided intoopposing camps.

Ding Chun, director of the Center forEuropean Studies of Fudan University, said Wang's trip has obtained"encouraging outcomes "at a time when the United States has beenengaged in unilateralism and attempts to isolate China.

The trip helps strengthen China-Europeties, which are important for global governance and the recovery of the globaleconomy, Ding said.

At a daily news conference on Wednesday,Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the world needs to choosebetween multilateralism and unilateralism, openness and isolation andcooperation and confrontation. She said China and Europe have an extensive andimportant consensus on the issues.

China hopes to continue to work with Europeto promote ties, safeguard multilateralism and free trade and contribute toworld peace, Hua said.

Cui Hongjian, director of the Department forEuropean Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, said Chinaand Europe are both victims of unilateralism, and they need to repeatedlyconsolidate their consensus on cooperation as some European countries have beenpressured by the US to "decouple" from China.

Noting the significance of China-Europeties to global trade and multilateralism, Cui said bilateral cooperation willalso help prevent "revival of the Cold War" and ease tensions betweenChina and the US.

Find more audio news on the China Dailyapp.

记者：王青云，陈卫华

播报：AndrewPasek

原文链接：

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202009/03/WS5f50268da310675eafc57235.html