Chinese, New Zealand's FMs discuss bilateral ties on phone

BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi talked about bilateral relations with New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters in a phone conversation on Tuesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, congratulated Peters on reassuming the office.

He said the international situation has undergone complex and profound changes, but the importance of the ties between China and New Zealand has not changed, the complementarity of the economies of the two countries has not changed, and China's positive attitude and policy of advancing the China-New Zealand relationship has not changed.

China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with New Zealand and continue to carry forward the spirit of "striving to be the first" to work for new development of the China-New Zealand ties at a new starting point, in a bid to make it continue to serve as an example of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results for countries with different systems, civilizations and sizes, Wang said.

China and New Zealand have huge potential for cooperation, Wang said, noting that the upgrade to the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement entered into force last year, which the two countries should implement with high quality.

The two sides should also start the negotiation on a negative list for service trade as soon as possible, and continuously promote the high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation, said Wang.

As China and New Zealand differ in the political system, history and culture, and development stage, the two sides should respect and understand each other, put themselves in each other's shoes, and properly handle differences and disagreements, Wang added.

China is ready to strengthen multilateral coordination with New Zealand, so as to jointly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, he said.

For his part, Peters expressed condolences over the earthquake in China's Gansu Province. He said New Zealand attaches importance to its relations with China, and is willing to push for the continuous development of bilateral ties to safeguard and promote the common interests of the two countries.

Peters said New Zealand looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in such areas as trade and tourism to make up for the losses caused by the pandemic. New Zealand is committed to upholding and consolidating multilateralism, attaches importance to China's role in international and regional affairs, and expects China to make greater contributions to regional and world peace and stability, he added.

As Pacific countries, New Zealand and China can strengthen cooperation in climate change and other fields so as to jointly bring benefits to the Pacific island countries, said Peters.

The two sides also exchanged views on the international hotspot issues including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukraine crisis.