China and European Union aim to deepen cooperation over international security
Beijing talks cover global hotspot issues, such as Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran, and diplomacy, but human rights appears to remain a sensitive issue
The European Union and China on Tuesday expressed a desire to deepen cooperation on international security, diplomacy and climate change, though human rights appeared to remain a sensitive issue.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and China’s top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi held talks in Beijing as part of a regular strategic dialogue in which the two sides exchange views and develop political and economic relations.
Mogherini, leading the EU side in the two-day discussions for the first time, said much of her talks with Yang had covered international hotspot issues such as Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran.
The two sides discussed “possibilities of strengthening our cooperation on security and defence”, Mogherini said at a joint press appearance, citing what she described as their “extremely successful” anti-piracy cooperation in the Gulf of Aden.
“We also discussed the situation in Iraq and Syria, briefly, and Libya where the European Union and China share common interests and where our joint efforts could make a real difference,” she said.
Yang said that the two sides “agreed to step up communication and coordination” on key global issues, such as Iran, where Beijing participated in negotiations with Tehran aimed at containing its nuclear programme as part of the so-called P5+1 – Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany.
