China committed to multilateralism, closer Asia-Europe partnership: Chinese envoy to EU

China is committed to working with other countries in Asia and Europe to champion upholding multilateralism and to forge a robust partnership between the two continents, the Chinese ambassador to the European Union has said.

One of the venues of the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, October 18, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Ahead of the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Belgium's capital Brussels, Zhang Ming called for joint actions to meet challenges and promote closer ties in a signed article titled "ASEM: Global Partners for Global Challenges."

"As anti-globalization and protectionist sentiments threaten to come back, our world is mired in a greater sense of instability and uncertainty," he said.

"It is more important than ever for ASEM members to come together, think in long terms, and take coordinated actions to resist unilateralism and uphold multilateralism."

He said that China stands ready to join other ASEM members in tackling universal challenges and contributing to more substantial cooperation between Asia and Europe.

Serving as the largest inter-governmental platform of Eurasia, the ASEM Summit plays a key role in expanding cooperation and bolstering regional connectivity.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is on his nine-day Eurasian trip, is scheduled to attend the meeting on Thursday and Friday. He will state China's stance on global issues and exchange views with leaders of other ASEM partners.

As connectivity is among the main topics of the summit, Zhang said that Asia and Europe need to unleash greater potential to increase connectivity.

The two sides need to strive for quicker results in areas such as trade and investment facilitation and digital economy, and can also explore more opportunities in such future-oriented fields as clean energy, ecological protection and smart technology, he said.

"Apart from bilateral partnerships, ASEM as a multilateral mechanism has a crucial role to play as well," he said.

In order to bring Asia and Europe closer, Zhang also highlighted the importance of people-to-people exchanges. The long-term development of ASEM would not be possible without respect for different historical and national conditions, he said.

"We must act together to ensure that our cooperation is always of the people, by the people and for the people," he added.