Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Zhang Ming At the EU-China: Pre-Summit Briefing

维冈总司长、伊斯拉姆女士，

女士们，先生们：

　　很高兴与各位新老朋友见面。今天活动的主题是“欧洲、中国与变化的世界”，聚焦的是将于不久后在北京举行的第20次中欧领导人会晤。我想大家非常关心的，是在当前充满不确定性的国际形势下，领导人会晤作为今年中欧关系最重要的政治议程，将取得什么成果、发出什么信息？中欧关系能不能成为这个变化世界中的“稳定砝码”？

　　关于这些问题的具体答案，因为会晤筹备工作还在进行，我恐怕不能做太多“剧透”。但可以确信的是，此次领导人会晤将为今后一个时期中欧关系发展提供政治引领，也将以中欧合作的稳定性，为急剧变化和充满挑战的世界贡献积极因素。

(Thank you, Shada, for your introduction.)

Managing Director Gunnar Wiegand,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's great to meet my old and new friends today. This roundtable focuses on the 20th China-EU Summit to be held in Beijing later this month. No doubt, it's going to be the most important event on this year's China-EU political agenda. As today's theme-"Europe, China and a changed global order"-suggests, we are now living in a time of uncertainties. Given this special context, many of you are watching what the summit will deliver, and whether China-EU relations could play a stabilizing role in this changing world.

Well, as preparations are still underway, I would rather not be a spoiler to give away too much. But one thing is certain. The summit will provide political guidance for China-EU relations for the time to come. And a stable China-EU relationship will be a positive factor in this world of great changes and challenges. 

　　我们将彰显全面战略伙伴的关系定位。今年是中欧全面战略伙伴关系建立15周年。15年来，中国与欧盟超越政治制度和发展模式差异，开展了全方位和宽领域合作交流，不仅为双方人民带来了切实利益，也为解决各种全球性难题做出了积极贡献。以此次领导人会晤为契机，重申中欧对坚持相互尊重、秉持公平正义、寻求合作共赢的坚定承诺，将进一步向世界表明，零和游戏和对抗思维没有也不应该成为国际关系的主流，我们应努力构建以合作共赢为核心的新型国际关系，推动构建人类命运共同体，建设一个持久和平、普遍安全、共同繁荣、开放包容、清洁美丽的世界。

　　我们将彰显中欧互利共赢的合作本质。此次领导人会晤将梳理中欧务实合作成果，规划未来合作方向，努力打造新的合作增长点和亮点。中欧经贸合作备受各界关注，双方对彼此都有一些具体关切和诉求。一周前，第七轮中欧经贸高层对话在北京举行，就中欧投资协定谈判、地理标志协定谈判、“一带一路”倡议与欧洲发展战略对接等发出许多积极信号，为领导人会晤经贸部分做了充分准备。虽然一次对话或会晤不可能解决所有问题，但只要坚持互利共赢，中欧合作就一定能够行稳致远，也将显示国际社会合作共赢才是让世界更美好的唯一途径。

Through the summit, we hope to convey the following messages:

First, China and the EU remain comprehensive strategic partners. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. We have extended our cooperation to a wide range of areas despite the differences in political system and development pattern. Our cooperation has delivered real benefits to our citizens and contributed to the resolution of global challenges. At the summit, China and the EU will reaffirm commitment to mutual respect and mutual benefit, and demonstrate to the world that zero-sum mentality has not and should not define the game. We need to work together to forge a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, embrace a shared future, and build a peaceful, open, inclusive, and beautiful world with common security and prosperity. 

The second message is that mutually beneficial cooperation remains at the heart of China-EU relations. At the summit, Chinese and EU leaders will review the past achievements, chart the future course and seek to identify new areas of cooperation. Economic and trade relations have always been followed with great interest. A week ago, the seventh China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED) sent encouraging signals regarding BIT talks, geographic indications agreement, the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and Europe's development strategies, and so on, making good preparations for the summit from the economic perspective. China and the EU do have some specific concerns toward each other, and frankly speaking, they may not be resolved once and for all through one single summit. However, it is always crucial to act in the spirit of mutual benefit. It is a fundamental principle that could keep China-EU relations on the right course, and it is the only feasible way to make our world as a whole great.