On June 1, 2018 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini co-chaired the eighth round of China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue in Brussels.

Wang Yi said that over the past 15 years since China and the EU established comprehensive strategic partnership, a favorable situation has been formed featuring all-around exchanges and cooperation in various fields. At present, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise with each passing day. As two stabilizing forces in the international landscape, China and the EU should strengthen strategic communication, promote strategic mutual trust, deepen strategic cooperation, jointly maintain the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), and safeguard the multilateralism process and the global free trade system.

Wang Yi said that China is willing to, together with the EU, make good preparations for the 20th China-EU Summit to be held in China next month, so as to ensure positive outcomes from the meeting, thus sending a positive signal to the outside that China and the EU are committed to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership and safeguarding and strengthening the international order. China stands ready to, together with the EU, further consolidate political mutual trust, deepen economic and trade cooperation, promote mutual investment, jointly build the "Belt and Road" and strengthen multilateral cooperation. China and the EU should join hands to play the due role in and make due contributions to promoting world peace and development and coping with global challenges.

Federica Mogherini said that under the background of complex and ever-changing international situation and increasing challenges faced by the world, the importance of EU-China strategic cooperation is further highlighted. The EU fully agrees with China's views and is willing to, together with the Chinese side, further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership, strengthen strategic coordination, jointly deal with challenges, as well as safeguard and strengthen the multilateral system with the UN at its core and the rules-based international order. Such gestures conform to the interests of both sides and of the world.

Federica Mogherini expressed that after 15 years of development, dialogue and cooperation in various fields between the EU and China have reached an unprecedented height. The two sides hold similar positions and enjoy close coordination on a series of major international issues. The EU is willing to align the Investment Plan for Europe and the Asia-Europe connectivity strategy with the "Belt and Road" initiative to form synergy. The international community pays high attention to the upcoming 20th EU-China Summit. The EU stands ready to make joint efforts with China to ensure that the meeting will be successful and achieve practical results, and to send a strong signal to the outside world in support of multilateralism and the multilateral trading system with the Word Trade Organization as the cornerstone.

The two sides exchanged in-depth views on international and regional hotspot issues of common concern including the Iranian nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. The two sides agreed to continue to maintain and implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear issue, further strengthen communication and coordination, and safeguard common interests. The two sides support the peace and reconciliation process between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea, and expect the upcoming meeting between leaders of the DPRK and the United States to be smooth and successful.

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in economic and trade investment, connectivity, climate change, energy, ocean, counterterrorism and other fields, and meanwhile, to further exploit exchanges and cooperation in the fields of political security and defense.