On Monday 23 November, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, informed Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, that the EU remains “committed to building a comprehensive relationship with China, again taking into account the EU’s interests and values and based on mutual commitment and reciprocity”.
According to the EEAS, during a phone call to Wang Yi, he stressed that “the EU will continue to pursue its policy on China based on the EU’s interests and values”.
According to the EEAS, during the meeting the two men discussed implementation of commitments made at the summit of 22 June (see EUROPE 12511/1) and the leaders’ video conference of 14 September (see EUROPE 12559/1), including a comprehensive agreement on investment (see EUROPE 12598/5) and climate action. They also discussed the situation in Hong Kong and the launch of the EU-US dialogue on China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the two sides also discussed the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU’s strategic autonomy and EU-China cooperation, and explained that the EU is an important partner for China and one of Chinese diplomacy’s priority directions. It added: “The hope is that the EU can develop a more active relationship with China”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)