MUNICH, Germany, (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged China and France to make joint efforts to safeguard the status and role of the United Nations and prevent the world from reverting to the “law of the jungle.”Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the appeal during talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Wang said that the successful first China-France-Germany trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting, held on Friday, sent a positive and constructive message to the world.
Amid the changing and turbulent international landscape when multilateralism is under attack, the three major countries should stand together to uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, the true multilateralism and the free trade system, and provide more positive energy to the world, Wang said.
Since French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China late last year, bilateral relations have maintained a positive and dynamic momentum, with various departments following up on the outcomes of the visit, and exchanges and cooperation across various fields gathering pace, Wang said.
The two sides should chart the course for the next stage of exchanges, constantly enhance mutual understanding and trust, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang added.Both China and France are independent and responsible major countries, and multilateral coordination is an important feature of their bilateral relationship, Wang said, urging both sides to address the deficit in global governance and support each other’s multilateral initiatives.
For his part, Barrot said that Macron’s successful visit to China last year led to in-depth strategic communication and a series of important common understandings between the two leaders.France attaches great importance to China’s status and role as a major country and firmly adheres to the one-China policy, Barrot said.
He expressed France’s willingness to work with China to follow through on the consensus reached by the two leaders, strengthen institutional dialogue across various fields, deepen mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation, and properly handle frictions through dialogue and consultation.
Barrot noted that as France holds the G7 presidency and China hosts APEC this year, France looks forward to maintaining close multilateral communication and coordination with China, working together to address critical issues such as global governance.
The two sides also exchanged views on issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the Iranian nuclear issue
