On May 7, 2021, Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang was invited by the European Union (EU) Delegation to China to the 2021 Europe Day reception.

Qin Gang said in his speech that China-Europe relations forged ahead against the headwinds of COVID-19 in 2020 and have achieved plentiful outcomes. For the moment, China-Europe relations are faced with new development opportunities and many challenges as well. Following the general direction and main principle of development of bilateral relations, both China and Europe should stick to the partnership positioning and consolidate the foundation for bilateral relations; carry forward win-win cooperation and strengthen dialogue and cooperation; adhere to multilateralism and work together to cope with global challenges; properly handle conflicts and problems through dialogue and consultation, and drive the healthy, stable development of bilateral ties in the post-pandemic era.

In his speech, Head of the EU Delegation to China Nicolas Chapuis said, in 2020, the EU and China held three summits, opened two new high-level dialogues on climate and on digital issues, concluded negotiation on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, and formally signed the Geographical Indications Agreement. In 2021, the EU is willing to work with China to conduct dialogue and cooperation in such areas as climate change, biodiversity, reform of the World Trade Organization and people-to-people exchanges, and to address their respective concerns with mutual respect.