On February 14, 2026 local time, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Munich Security Conference. He delivered a speech at the "China in the World" session and answered questions from the floor.

In response to questions on China-EU relations, Wang Yi stated that China and the EU are naturally partners rather than rivals, still less "systemic rivals". The two sides have been engaging with each other for over half a century; are the numerous achievements not enough to prove this? With a daily trade volume exceeding 2 billion U.S. dollars, surpassing the total of the entire year before the establishment of diplomatic relations, and hundreds of cooperation mechanisms in constant operation, how could the two sides suddenly be labeled "systemic rivals"? This is a negative mindset and a wrong perception. Continued exaggeration or hype of this narrative will cause harmful interference and impact on the future of China-Europe relations.

Are there differences and disagreements between China and Europe? Of course there are. The two sides have different social systems, values, and development models, but these stem from their respective history and cultural heritage, and represent the choices of their respective peoples. Differences are not a reason to be adversaries, and divergences are even less a basis for confrontation. The correct approach is to respect, appreciate, and learn from each other, achieving common development and jointly illuminating the world.

Wang Yi emphasized that there is an ancient Chinese saying: "All living things can grow in harmony without hurting one another, and different ways can run in parallel without interfering with one another." Even two thousand years ago, people possessed such broad-mindedness—could it be that modern people are inferior to those of ancient times? Confucius once said, "A gentleman seeks harmony but not uniformity." This means pursuing harmonious coexistence while acknowledging differences, a principle known as the way of a gentleman. China and Europe should both act in accordance with this principle. Particularly in the face of the current turbulent international situation, China and Europe should all the more join hands to practice multilateralism, uphold the authority of the United Nations, oppose unilateralism and bullying, and resist bloc confrontation. China hopes that the two sides will work together to implement the four global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping and build a more just and equitable global governance system. This should be the direction of the joint efforts between China and Europe.