China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday invited EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and his delegation for a visit in the fall, after Beijing cancelled a trip initially planned for July.
The visit will allow for preparations ahead of an expected EU-China summit with “extensive and in-depth exchanges,” Wang was quoted as saying in a statement published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry after the two officials spoke on the phone. The leaders’ summit will occur before the end of the year, Wang indicated in the statement.
“China and the EU should carry out more institutional dialogues, make up for the missing exchange lessons between China and the EU in the three years of the epidemic, and inject new strong impetus into the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership,” Wang was cited as saying.
Borrell said he looks forward to “visiting China as soon as possible,” according to the statement.
The EU’s top diplomat was scheduled to visit China last month to meet then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang and discuss issues including human rights and Russia’s war in Ukraine. But later that month, Qin was fired after going missing from public view for weeks, and his predecessor Wang was reinstated.
Borrell and Wang also discussed “international and regional issues of common concern such as Ukraine and Niger,” according to the statement.
