Xi urges stronger China-Europe ties in meetings with German, Swiss presidents

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping called for stronger cooperation between China and Europe during separate meetings Friday with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Swiss President Guy Parmelin, emphasizing openness, mutual respect and economic cooperation.During his meeting with Steinmeier, Xi urged China and Germany to “send out a positive message of choosing openness and cooperation over isolation and confrontation,” according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.Xi emphasized the importance of maintaining constructive economic relations between China and the European Union, describing their trade relationship as mutually beneficial.”The essence of China-EU trade and economic relations lies in complementarity and mutual benefit,” Xi said, calling for “mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation.”Acknowledging challenges in relations between Beijing and Brussels, Xi said China-EU ties “have gone through a lot,” but maintained that disagreements arising from cooperation should be addressed through dialogue.He described such challenges as “problems of development and issues in the course of progress.””As long as the two sides remain committed to the characterization of partnership and uphold dialogue on an equal footing, differences and issues can always be solved,” Xi said.The Chinese president also expressed hope that China and the EU would work together to promote “an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.”In a separate meeting with Swiss President Guy Parmelin, Xi called for closer economic cooperation to strengthen confidence and stability in China-Europe trade relations and the global economy, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.Xi described Switzerland as an important European partner, noting that bilateral cooperation has consistently been at the forefront of China’s relations with European countries.He highlighted free trade as a major achievement in bilateral relations, saying it reflected both countries’ commitment to openness and their shared role in supporting an open global economy.Xi said China was ready to work with Switzerland to deepen cooperation, uphold openness and advance inclusive economic globalization.Following their talks, Xi and Parmelin witnessed the signing of a protocol to upgrade the China-Switzerland free trade agreement.The two countries also signed cooperation documents covering scientific research, employment and media.