Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, speaks at the 55th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, Feb 16, 2019. (THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP)

BEIJING - China and the European Union (EU) should strengthen the political guidance for their bilateral relations and take the ties to a new level, said Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership is one of China's most important foreign relations, he said

In a written interview with Xinhua on Friday, Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said China and Europe are two major forces, two major markets and two major civilizations in the world today.

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The China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership is one of China's most important foreign relations, he said.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU diplomatic relations, Yang noted, adding that both sides should take this as an opportunity, work together to meet each other halfway and take China-EU relations to a new level, he said.

First, the two sides should strengthen the political guidance for bilateral relations, enhance political mutual trust, converge common ground and resolve differences, he said.

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The second is to make the pie of common interests bigger and further expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment, he said, adding that the third is to advance green development and digital economy cooperation.

Fourth, both sides should beef up cooperation in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, facilitate personnel exchanges in the context of the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, help boost the resumption of work and production, and stabilize the global industrial and supply chains, he said.

Fifth, he called on both sides to firmly uphold multilateralism, strengthen communication on improving global governance, promote sustainable development, resolve global and regional hotspot issues, maintain close coordination on the reform of the UN Security Council, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization, and jointly safeguard and practice multilateralism.  

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