Remarks by Ambassador ZHANG Ming At the Policy Dialogue "the EU-China Strategic Partnership 15 Years on-What Direction for the Next 15 Years?"

祖雷格主任，

維岡總司長，

女士們、先生們：

　　非常感謝歐洲政策中心組織這次吹風會，很高興與大家就中歐關系交換意見。

Chief Executive Fabian Zuleeg, 

Mr. Gunnar Wiegand,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I would like to thank EPC for organizing this event and inviting me to speak on this important topic.

　　中歐全面戰(zhàn)略伙伴關系已走過15年歷程，雙方政治互信不斷深化、經貿聯系日益密切、人員交流持續(xù)頻密。15年前，中歐雙邊貿易額為1252億美元。今年1至8月已達4450億美元，全年可望比15年前翻兩番還多。15年前，雙邊人員往來約為300萬人次，去年突破700萬人次。每周有600個航班往返于中歐兩地。這些數據生動反映了中歐之間的緊密聯系。

As Ambassador, I am proud to see how much has been achieved since China and the EU established the comprehensive strategic partnership 15 years ago. Figures are convincing.

--Bilateral trade was 125.2 billion US dollars 15 years ago, while just in the first eight months of this year, trade already reached 445 billion dollars. At the end of this year, we could expect an amount more than four times that of 15 years ago.

--In the past 15 years, mutual visits increased from 3 million to over 7 million. 600 flights travel between China and the EU every week.

Numbers are lifeless, but they give a lively expression to the close ties between China and the EU.

　　經常有人問：何為“全面戰(zhàn)略伙伴關系”？所謂“全面”，是指雙方關系的內涵不限于傳統(tǒng)的經貿聯系，還涵蓋外交、安全、人文、科技、環(huán)保、全球治理等各領域。中歐已建立近80個對話交流磋商機制，形成全方位、寬領域、多層次的有效聯系。

　　所謂“戰(zhàn)略”，是指雙方超越歷史、文化、價值觀和政治制度的差異，著力構建具有全局性、長期性和穩(wěn)定性的合作關系。面對紛繁復雜的國際形勢，就重大戰(zhàn)略性問題進行深入有效溝通，不斷加強協(xié)調、深化互信，實現良性互動。

Some are asking what is the definition of a comprehensive strategic partnership. "Comprehensive" means that our cooperation is not just about trade, but about a broad range of areas, like foreign policy, security, culture, science and technology, global governance, to name just a few. We have nearly 80 dialogue mechanisms at different levels and in different fields.

"Strategic" means that we embrace a big-picture and long-term thinking for cooperation, going beyond our differences in history, cultures, development modes and political system. In a time of uncertainties, strategic partners are poised to communicate on major issues with a sense of trust, and enhance coordination to add a sense of certainty.