Highlights of foreign minister's press conference

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and external relations at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing, March 8, 2018. [Photo by Kuang Linhua/China Daily]

Wang seeks stronger China-EU relations

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that he hopes the China-EU relations will be as strong at the end of the year as they were at the start of the year.

"China and EU share the responsibility to safeguard the global free trade system and negotiation needs to be speeded up to conclude a China-EU investment agreement," he said.

"There are some disagreements between China and the EU, but both sides have realized the need to put themselves in the each other's shoes and to be more open, tolerant and understanding of one another," he said.

'China not a party to CPTPP'

China is a strong advocate of trade liberlization and a key player in Asia-Pacific cooperation and economic integration, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Denying China's participation in the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he said China is positive about any open, transparent, and inclusive arrangement that reinforces economic cooperation and WTO-centered global free trade system.

Chinese FM calls for mutual trust with India

Foreign Minister Wang Yi called mutual trust "an issue that needs to be addressed urgently" between China and India.

Chinese and Indian leaders have developed a strategic vision for the future bilateral ties, which is the Chinese "dragon" and the Indian "elephant" must not fight but dance with each other, he said.

He said he hopes the two sides will replace suspicion with trust, manage differences through dialogue and build a future through cooperation.

Inciting bloc confrontation will find no market

Wang Yi said Thursday that stoking a new Cold War is out of sync with the times and inciting bloc confrontation will find no market.

Wang made the remarks in response on the "Indo-Pacific" strategy, which claimed that it was introduced to contain China.

Wang cited the official positions of the United States, Japan, India and Australia as "it targets no one".

"I hope they mean what they say and their actions match their words," said Wang.

Japan urged to see China as partner, not threat

Wang Yi said that Japan should earnestly implement the political understanding that "China and Japan see each other as partners, not threats".

China is willing to work with Japan to restore the relationship to healthy and steady growth, as long as Japan "does not prevaricate, flip-flop or backpedal and instead accepts and welcomes China's development", Wang said.

"Never forget why you started, and you can accomplish your mission. At this important juncture, we ask Japan to have political credibility and act accordingly to cement the political foundation of its relations with China," Wang said.