On July 19, 2022, Director-General of the Department of European Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Wang Lutong, upon invitation, held group working exchanges with diplomatic envoys of the European Union (EU) and its member states to China.

Wang Lutong said that under the current turbulent international situation, China-EU relations have maintained overall stability, with frequent high-level contacts, sound momentum in economic, trade and investment cooperation, positive progress in cooperation on major projects, and close communication on international issues. As two important forces, two major economies and two civilizations in a multi-polar world, China and the EU should maintain the fundamental position of partnership, keep the positive momentum of dialogue and communication, build consensus and deepen cooperation. We hope the EU will adhere to its strategic autonomy, overcome disturbing factors, and work with China to promote sustained and stable China-EU relations. China and the EU should achieve three-pronged "adherence" and three "oppositions":

Adhere to mutual benefit and oppose "decoupling with others and severing supply chains". The two sides should take account of the fundamental and long-term interests, jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system with WTO as the cornerstone, maintain the hard-won international economic and trade rules and order, maintain the stability and smoothness of the global industrial and supply chains, jointly oppose the negative tendency of "decoupling with others and severing supply chains", oppose "bloc trade" and "managed trade", and oppose the fragmentation of globalization. China and the EU should open up to each other, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, avoid adding new barriers, and prevent making everything political and security-related that will make economic and trade issues "overloaded".

Adhere to multilateralism and oppose bloc confrontation. China and the EU should uphold the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The EU is welcome to actively participate in the Global Security Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Data Security Initiative and Cooperation Initiative on Global Food Security to improve global governance and jointly address global challenges. We should abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, abandon the practice of group politics based on the "clique" interests, and stop stoking confrontation and division.

Adhere to seeking common ground while reserving differences, and oppose widening differences. Different in histories, cultures and traditions, China and the EU should respect, appreciate and learn from each other. We cannot regard each other as rivals because of different systems, reduce cooperation because of competition, or confront each other because of differences. China and the EU should insist on being partners rather than adversaries, carry out frank and constructive dialogues on the basis of mutual respect, enhance understanding, seek common ground while shelving differences, expand common ground while resolving differences, and promote sustained, sound and stable development of China-EU relations.

Wang Lutong also exchanged views with EU envoys to China on China-EU bilateral and multilateral dialogue and cooperation, personnel exchanges and the Ukraine issue, among others.