——写在中国与欧盟建交四十周年之际
王 毅 费代丽卡·莫盖里尼

-- To mark the 40th anniversary of establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations
By Wang Yi and Federica Mogherini

Great changes have taken place since then. China's opening up and reform policy has brought about remarkable achievements over the past 40 years. The EEC has evolved into the European Union. We have supported each other's development and worked together to deal with global challenges such as the financial crises in 2008.

Our mutually beneficial cooperation, notably our trade and economic cooperation, has made an important contribution to not only China's development and European integration, but the world's peace and development as well.

We have both been personally involved in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue, encouraged all parties to reach a preliminary agreement on the key parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This aims to ensure the security of the region, and sets an important precedent for promoting non-proliferation in other parts of the world.

We both believe that a positive outcome would have been impossible without the commitment of all parties, and we are now coordinating closely to reach an comprehensive agreement.

Through our joint efforts, bilaterally and with other international partners, we have managed to curb piracy attacks drastically and to secure safety of navigation in Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. The EU ATALANTA mission and Chinese PLA-N also conducted their first two naval exercises off the Horn of Africa last year.

While this cooperation will continue, we need to look at ways to address the root causes of piracy on land. We also intend to expand our focus to promoting peace and security in Africa, by supporting the capacity of the African Union and working together in places such as Mali.

Our common successes embolden us to keep on the same track. Together we can address other longstanding peace and security challenges such as the Middle East Peace Process, where we are both committed to a comprehensive, two-state solution.

Both China and the EU are convinced that the conflict in Ukraine can only be solved by diplomatic means and through full respect for international law, especially respect for Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We call on all sides to fully assume their responsibility and to implement their commitments under the Minsk agreements.

We also have a shared responsibility for countering terrorism in all forms. The EU has been grateful for Chinese efforts to evacuate and bring back to safety Chinese, European and other citizens from Yemen.

Our efforts should continue now towards addressing the acute crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen by working towards negotiated political solutions under the aegis of the United Nations. And we should do everything we can to prevent such crises to arise in the future.

We have come such a long way since 1975, when our relationship was based on trade and economic relations only. But in forty years we have also reached an unprecedented level of interdependence.

Our trade now reaches, according to Chinese statistics, as much as $600 billion, and some 16,000 passengers are travelling between China and EU countries on over 70 flights each day. We are committed to strengthening trade and economic ties, facilitating people-to-people exchanges, and to boosting two-way investment and improving market access on a reciprocal basis.

China and the EU are accountable for the wellbeing of about a quarter of the globe's population. Our two economies impact immensely on those around us. We should co-ordinate more closely at the multilateral level.

We are now dedicating significant resources to advancing the climate change negotiations and securing an ambitious possible outcome at the Paris Conference of the Parties. The up-coming EU-China Summit will be partly dedicated to designing a joint approach.