Borrell to attend high-level Sino-EU talks

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced on Wednesday that European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will visit China and attend the 12th round of the China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue from Thursday to Saturday.

"China welcomes Borrell and believes his trip will help promote the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations and lay the groundwork for future high-level exchanges," Wang said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

Borrell's visit, which was twice rescheduled since it was announced in April, will also provide new impetus for China and the EU to jointly address global challenges and safeguard world peace and stability, Wang added.

Observers noted that the visit will provide an opportunity for China and the EU to facilitate mutual understanding through discussions on a variety of issues such as practical cooperation, hot spot regional issues and global affairs.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, said that economic and trade issues will be among the focal points of discussion during Borrell's visit, particularly after the European Commission officially launched an anti-subsidy investigation into the import of electric cars from China on Oct 4.

Li said whether the two sides can handle the issue properly matters to the stability and development of China-EU ties.

"There is no doubt that the practice of imposing restrictions on Chinese products while seeking to profit from the huge Chinese market will not be accepted by the Chinese side," Li said, adding that cooperation will be a natural result when the two sides build up mutual trust through communication.

Wang, the spokesman, said that China and the EU share extensive common interests as two major forces for world peace, two major markets for common development and two major civilizations for humanity's progress.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU.

Since the beginning of this year, the two sides have had frequent high-level interactions and carried out dialogue and cooperation at all levels in different areas, showing a positive momentum in China-EU relations.

In a phone call with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in August, Borrell said he looks forward to visiting China as soon as possible to jointly prepare for this year's EU-China leaders' meeting and to promote the further development of EU-China relations.