China's Xi ready to work with EU to expand ties, handle friction
China said it would welcome visits by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (left) and European Council President Antonio Costa. PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING - President Xi Jinping said China was ready to work with European Union leaders to expand mutual openness and properly handle frictions and differences, the official Xinhua news agency reported on May 6.
The remarks come on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union as they work to thaw ties amid global trade uncertainty fuelled by sweeping US tariffs.
Mr Xi did not mention the United States in his remarks, but Beijing has been keen to forge closer economic and political links with Europe to limit the damage from President Donald Trump's tariffs on most of its exports to the United States.
'Healthy, stable China-EU ties not only promote mutual achievements, but also illuminate the world,' he said.
Mr Xi also called on the EU to jointly safeguard fairness and justice, and oppose unilateral bullying, describing their relations as one of the world's most influential, Xinhua added.
China said it would welcome visits by European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at an appropriate time to jointly hold a new round of meeting of leaders of both sides.
China and the EU will hold high-level dialogues on strategy, economy and trade, green development and digitalisation among a series of events in 2025, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference on May 6.
The ministry also confirmed that China and the European Parliament had decided to free up mutual exchanges.
Last week, the EU said China would lift sanctions on members of the European Parliament and its subcommittee on human rights. The sanctions were imposed in 2021 over Western measures against Chinese officials accused of the mass detention of Muslim Uyghurs in the far western region of Xinjiang.
'Under the current circumstances, both sides believe it is very important for China and Europe to strengthen dialogue and cooperation,' Mr Lin, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters.
He expressed confidence that renewed talks would 'inject new impetus' in the development of China-EU relations. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
32 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Timor-Leste out to prove cynics wrong as Asean membership nears
Timor-Leste's President José Ramos-Horta arriving at the Shangri-La Singapore hotel on May 29, ahead of the Shangri-La Dialogue. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG There is almost no latency in Timor-Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta's response when I ask him whether he was surprised that Asean leaders agreed for his country to formally join as the grouping's 11th member as early as its next meeting in October. After all, it would have been perfectly understandable if the consensus had been that the country could do with a bit more time to fulfil outstanding conditions for accession, rather than fixing a provisional deadline that would inevitably come with pressure. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night
Riot police members hold their shields while they take position as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Riot police vehicles line up on a road as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Demonstrators gather in front of riot police vehicles as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Riot police members hold their shields while they take position as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland - Public disorder broke out in Northern Ireland for the third successive night on Wednesday with videos and pictures on social media purportedly showing a fire in a leisure centre in the town of Larne after masked youths smashed the building's windows. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the clips. Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire 33 kilometres (20 miles) west in Ballymena during the previous two nights in what police condemned as "racist thuggery." Thirty-two officers were injured. Riot police and armoured vans blocked roads in Ballymena on Wednesday evening as a crowd of around 200 people watched on. Two rocks were thrown at a police van and one person kicked the bonnet of a police van, a Reuters witness said. The police vans slowly moved towards the crowd who were warned over a loud speaker to disperse immediately as force was "about to be used against violent individuals." The violence initially erupted after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court, accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena, located 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Belfast. The charges were read via a Romanian interpreter to the boys, whose lawyer told the court that they denied the charge, the BBC reported. Police are investigating the damaging of property in Ballymena as racially-motivated hate crimes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israel recovers bodies of two hostages from Gaza
JERUSALEM - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the bodies of two hostages had been recovered from Gaza by the military and the domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet. Netanyahu said in a statement that the body of hostage Yair Yaakov had been retrieved, along with that of another hostage whose identity has not been cleared for publication. The Israeli military said militants from the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad abducted and killed Yaakov during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Militants also took Yaakov's partner, Meirav Tal, and two of his children, Or and Yagil, hostage but later released them, the military said. Yaakov was 59 at the time of his death. The military said it notified the family of the second hostage whose body it recovered, adding that it retrieved the bodies in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza. There are 53 hostages still being held in Gaza, with fewer than half believed to be alive. The latest recovery brings to five the number of hostage bodies retrieved by Israeli forces so far this month. Hamas and other militants from Gaza abducted 251 people during the 2023 attack in which about 1,200 people in Israel were killed. Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
