(Oslo) China and Europe must together “reject the Cold War mentality”, the Chinese foreign minister said on Friday, alongside an EU ministerial meeting aimed at “readjusting” the European position on the regard to Beijing.
“Nowadays, some are elevating the narrative of democracy versus autocracy and even evoking a new Cold War,” Qin Gang said during a press briefing during a visit. in Oslo.
“If we have a new Cold War, the outcome will be even more disastrous” than the previous one “and it will seriously damage relations and cooperation between China and Europe,” he warned.
China and Europe must together “reject the Cold War mentality” between great powers, insisted the Chinese minister.
Qin Gang made the remarks even as his EU counterparts gathered in Stockholm, neighboring Sweden, to seek to speak with one voice on China.
“We must readjust our position vis-à-vis China,” announced the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell at the opening of the meeting.
Ukraine, Taiwan, human rights, Uyghurs: many subjects oppose Chinese and Westerners, the latter not being themselves always aligned on all these questions.