BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China firmly supports the European integration process and positively views the development prospects of Europe and the European Union (EU), a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.
Lu Kang said at a routine press briefing that China and the EU, as two important global powers, are comprehensive strategic partners, and stable development of bilateral ties is very important.
China's policy toward Europe remains consistent, and China hopes that Europe can maintain prosperity, stability and opening up, Lu said.
He said China-EU relations have maintained sound development, with the creation of four partnerships of peace, growth, reform and civilization moving ahead steadily.
Both sides have attached more importance to strengthening strategic communication and coordination on major global issues, he added.
China and the EU will hold their seventh round of high-level strategic dialogues on Wednesday in Beijing, and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi will co-chair the dialogue with Federica Mogherini, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, as well as vice president of the European Commission.
Lu said both sides will take advantage of the dialogue to plan for the development of bilateral ties in the next stage and exchange in-depth views on global and regional hotspot issues of common concern in order to deepen mutual trust, promote cooperation and maintain the development momentum of China-EU relations.
