Chinese FM, EU foreign policy chief meet on closer strategic partnership

UNITED NATIONS - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Friday with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on the sidelines of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly.

During their talks, Wang said that the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, which has laid a solid foundation and opened a bright prospect for the development of bilateral ties, ushers in a second decade this year.

During a trip to Europe in March this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and European leaders decided to deepen their partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization, which has charted the course for the future development of China-EU ties, said Wang.

China and the EU need to accumulate mutual trust and strengthen cooperation on the basis of mutual respect so as to further advance their comprehensive strategic partnership, said the Chinese foreign minister.

For her part, Ashton said that the EU-China relationship, which has made rapid progress over the past 10 years, enjoys great potential for further development.

The EU-China relationship is one of the cores of the EU's diplomatic relations, she said, adding that the EU will continue to pursue a friendly policy toward China and work with China to lift their partnership to a higher level.

The two sides also exchanged views on such hot issues as the Iranian nuclear issue and the situation in Ukraine.