Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said on Wednesday that his trip to Europe aimed to show China's commitment to peaceful development.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during an interview with the Chinese media after wrapping up his nine-day tour to Europe that took him to France, Italy, Hungary and Russia, where he met with leaders and senior officials on bilateral ties and beyond, and Germany for a security conference in Munich.

The European leaders and officials said they value China's status in the world and the role it has played and recognized China's policy choices and development direction, Wang told reporters.

On China-U.S. ties

At the request of the U.S. side, Wang met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference during the tour.

The meeting between the two senior officials came nearly two weeks after the U.S. shot down an unmanned Chinese civilian airship that had deviated from its planned course and entered the U.S. airspace due to force majeure.

During Wednesday's interview, Wang said he believes the saga involving the airship will go down in history as a farce and show fabricated by the United States.

"During the unofficial engagement with Blinken, I made it clear to the U.S. side not to do such a ridiculous thing out of need of domestic politics again," he told reporters.

He continued that China has always been ready to develop a stable China-U.S. relationship in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation.

However, the U.S. insists on its hegemony and resorts to every means possible to suppress China, including geopolitical containment, blockade in technology, economic decoupling and creation of ideological confrontation, Wang said.

He urged the U.S. side to have an objective and fair perception of China, and return to a rational and pragmatic China policy.

On China-Europe ties

When asked about why he chose Europe as the destination of his first visit of the year, Wang said Beijing has always seen China and Europe as two main forces of safeguarding world peace, two major markets of promoting common development and two civilizations for advancing human progress.

China and Europe are partners, not opponents, he said, adding that they are each other's opportunity, not threat.

"If China and Europe choose dialogue and cooperation, there will be no camp confrontation. If China and Europe choose peace and stability, there will be no new cold war," said Wang. "And if China and Europe choose openness and win-win outcome, there is hope for global development and prosperity."

Referring to the spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis, Wang said proper management of differences and strengthened communication and cooperation between China and Europe will offer rare stability to the volatile international situation and be relevant to a political solution to the Ukraine issue.

"During my engagements and communication, I feel that European countries are hopeful for China's development, placing high hopes on the role China plays in the world," he said.

They are willing to advance China-Europe comprehensive strategic partnership and expand the mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, said Wang.

"I believe China-Europe relations will present a look of positive development this year."

On China-Russia ties

Having concluded his last leg of visit in Russia, Wang said China and Russia reached a three-pronged consensus: on the goals of bilateral relations, practical cooperation in various fields and on major international and regional issues.

Both sides organized work to implement the guidance of the two presidents and agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and step up strategic cooperation to safeguard common interests as well as their own legitimate rights and interests, Wang said.

The China-Russia relationship, which has its own value, has never targeted any third party, nor does it tolerate any third-party interference, Wang said.

The two sides agreed to restart the normal exchange of personnel, further key cooperation projects and host more cultural exchange events, such as Years of Sports Exchanges, to consolidate public opinion in both countries.

Both sides also agreed to enhance coordination at multilateral cooperation platforms, such as the United Nations, the BRICS, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

On Ukraine crisis

China will release a key document that will encourage Russia and Ukraine to go back to the negotiation table and join hands with the international community to seek a political solution to the ongoing crisis, Wang said.

After meeting with leaders and foreign ministers of over 10 countries during his trip to Munich and Moscow, he said he learned that although many sides hold different or conflicting views on the Ukraine crisis, they all agree on resolving the conflict through dialogue and expect China to play a more significant role in the process.

"China will release a document on political solutions to the Ukraine crisis and reiterate its stance while incorporating reasonable concerns of various countries. We will try our best to reach the greatest common divisor among international communities," Wang said.

The crisis takes place in Europe but affects the entire world. It cannot go on forever, and China supports the EU to play a more active and constructive role in bringing Russia and Ukraine back to the negotiation table, he added.

The Ukraine crisis is not what China would like to see, and everything China has been doing is to facilitate peace talks, he said, adding that since the conflict broke out, China has not chosen to be a bystander or added fuel to fire and has been against exploiting the crisis.

Wang said China is willing to join hands with all parties to continue the efforts for realizing peace at an early date.