China – Conversation between the Minister and her counterpart, Mr Wang Yi - Communique issued by the ministry for Europe and foreign Affairs (18 August 2023)

Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, spoke by telephone today to Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

The two ministers welcomed the resumption of bilateral exchanges, with President Macron’s State visit in April and Premier Li Qiang’s visit to France for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in June. They signalled the importance of continuing this positive momentum.

After the High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing on 29 July between M. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, and Vice Premier He Lifeng, the two ministers agreed to co-chair the next session of the High Level Dialogue on People-to-People Exchanges between now and the end of the year in China. It will prepare the Franco-Chinese Year of Cultural Tourism and the celebrations in 2024 of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

The two ministers also discussed Ukraine, Niger and Nagorno-Karabakh. On the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Minister recalled that China has an important role to play in persuading Russia to end its war of aggression and comply with international law. The Minister also emphasized the importance of continuing the efforts under way to fight the consequences of the Russian aggression, particularly on global food security. On the situation in Niger, the Minister repeated that France utterly condemns the attempted coup and the detention of President Bazoum and his family, and that it supports all ECOWAS’s efforts to restore the constitutional order under President Bazoum.

The two ministers agreed to continue their close dialogue on all these issues.