Kathmandu. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned his European Union (EU) counterpart against “confrontation”.
His comments came after the Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Beijing to stop undermining Europe’s security. In a meeting with Kaza Kalas in Brussels on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Yi said China and the EU “should not be treated as opponents because of differences, nor should they seek a confrontation because of disagreement”.
Europe is facing various challenges, he said, but added that nothing was caused by China in the “past, present or future”.
Ahead of the meeting, THE EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kalas, said China was “not against us, but our security relations are under increasing tension”. He said Chinese companies were “Moscow’s lifeline to continue the war against Ukraine”.
He accused Beijing of cyber-attacks, democratic interference and unfair trade practices, saying it would “harm European security and jobs”. China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia’s more than three-year war with Ukraine.
However, Western governments say Beijing has significant economic and diplomatic support for Moscow. “Enabling war in Europe by seeking closer ties with Europe is a contradiction that Beijing must address,” Kalas said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Wang portrayed Beijing as a stable balancer against superpower rival Washington. Washington has threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from European countries.
“The path taken by the US should not be used as a reflection of China,” he said. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry also said the two sides discussed the conflict between Ukraine, Israel and Palestine and iran’s nuclear issue.
“Beijing and Brussels should treat each other with ‘respect’,” Wang said, adding that Europe should adopt a more “proactive and pragmatic” China policy. Wang also met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and his Belgian counterpart Maxime Privot on Wednesday.
“China and the EU must support multilateralism and free trade… And we have to work together to address global challenges like climate change,” Wang told Van der Leyen.
Wang will now travel to Germany. In Germany, he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Johan Wadeful on diplomacy and security issues.
In France, Wang will meet With Jean-Noel Barot, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs who visited China in March. The visit comes nearly three weeks ahead of a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and top EU officials in Beijing.
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