China, EU have no conflict of fundamental interests: Chinese FM

There is no conflict of fundamental interests between China and the European Union (EU), Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday.

Wang made the remarks during a meeting in Tashkent with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

Both sides believe that the important principles of China-EU exchanges are mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences, Wang said.

The two sides should make joint efforts to expand the dominant aspects of China-EU cooperation, adhere to the main tone of mutual benefit and a win-win situation, properly manage differences and refrain from imposing their own will on others, Wang said.

It is hoped that the EU will view China's development in a friendly and positive way and from the perspective of the development of mankind, Wang added.

Noting China welcomes the global interconnection initiative proposed by the EU, Wang said China advocates that communication and coordination can be carried out among various interconnection initiatives to create synergy.

Having various consensuses in the general direction, China and the EU can certainly complement each other, work together to promote the interconnection among countries and accelerate the development and revitalization of Eurasia.

For his part, Borrell said despite the differences between the EU and China, the EU believes it should respect China, does not want to confront China and will not participate in any form of new Cold War.

The world needs more cooperation between China and the EU, and there is still much room for improvement of EU-China relations, Borrell said.

The EU welcomes China's development and revitalization, and is willing to have candid dialogue on existing differences and promote the continuous improvement of EU-China relations, Borrell said, adding the interconnection initiative proposed by the EU is by no means a confrontation against the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The EU is ready to strengthen coordination with China to synergize its interconnection initiative with the BRI, and is also willing to step up cooperation with China in addressing climate change, said Borrell.

The two sides also had in-depth exchanges on the Afghan issue and the Iran nuclear issue.