Wang Yi Speaks with French President's Diplomatic Advisor Emmanuel Bonne on the Phone

On July 18, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with French President's Diplomatic Advisor Emmanuel Bonne.

Wang Yi said that after President Emmanuel Macron won his re-election, the two heads of state had a successful phone conversation, providing strategic guidance and injecting new impetus into the sound and stable development of bilateral relations. The two sides quickly implemented the important consensus reached by the heads of state, and bilateral relations achieved a vigorous start. China is willing to work with the French side to promote the more dynamic development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France.

Bonne said, the French side attaches great importance to maintaining high-level contacts between the two countries. President Macron is firmly committed to the friendship with China and hopes to push the France-China comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height. The French side is willing to deepen practical cooperation with China in various fields such as aviation, agriculture and food, energy, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and strengthen coordination in global affairs such as biodiversity conservation, response to climate change and others, and looks forward to a new round of strategic dialogue between the two sides as soon as possible.

Bonne said, at present, the European continent is undergoing reignited conflict, and the recovery and development of Europe have suffered serious impacts. The EU, China and France are committed to peaceful and stable development, and adhere to the respect for international law, the principle of sovereignty and other important ideas. The French side appreciates China's active role in promoting food and energy security, attaches great importance to strategic coordination between France and China, and is willing to jointly demonstrate the responsibilities of major countries and work for an early ceasefire to minimize the negative spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis on vulnerable and underdeveloped countries.

Wang Yi said that China and France are two important stabilizing forces in the process of multipolarization in the world. In the face of the international situation with changes and chaos, especially the rampant unilateralism and the rise of the law of the jungle, China, as a responsible major country, has always insisted on upholding the UN-centered international system, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China is willing to strengthen coordination with the French side and make due contributions to the maintenance of peaceful and stable and development.

Wang Yi stressed that the Ukraine crisis has shown a long-term and complex trend, which the world does not want to see. China has insisted on promoting peace talks from the very beginning and will continue to make every effort to play a constructive role for a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. China appreciates President Macron's active mediation efforts, and supports and believes that the French side will continue to play a unique and important role in restoring peace as a European major country. The spillover of the Ukraine crisis has led to food and energy shortages, posing challenges and risks to global recovery, peace and stability. President Xi Jinping has successively proposed the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative. China is willing to strengthen communication with France on the implementation of the initiatives.

China also put forward a cooperation initiative on global food security at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which can echo the French FARM (Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission) initiative, with a view to forging more international consensuses.

Wang Yi expressed his hope that the French side, as a core major country of the EU and one part of the "Troika" of Europe, will play an active role in the sound and smooth development of China-EU relations, continue to extend the positive list of China-EU cooperation, create new cooperation highlights in energy security, carbon market, green finance and others, and jointly promote the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Bonne expressed his willingness to continue to actively promote EU-China cooperation with the principle of mutual benefit, and reiterated that NATO will stick to the geographical position it was founded on and has no intention and will not expand into the Asia-Pacific region.