China and the European Union (EU) need to stay committed to dialogue and cooperation and address global challenges together in a volatile world, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing on Thursday.

Xi welcomed Macron and von der Leyen, saying their concurrent visit to China demonstrates the positive desire of the EU to grow relations with China and complies with the common interests of China and the EU.

He pointed out that China and the EU share extensive common interests. Cooperation and common ground between the two sides outweigh competition and differences. In a complex and volatile world, China and the EU should respect each other, promote political trust, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, uphold world peace and stability, promote common development and prosperity, and address global challenges together.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi said China is prepared to work with the EU to fully resume exchanges at all levels and revitalize mutually-beneficial cooperation in various fields.

He stressed the importance of enhancing the stability of China-EU ties, saying the China-EU relationship does not target any third party, nor should it be dependent on or be dictated by any third party. China has all along viewed the relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective and hopes the EU will develop a more independent and objective perception of China and adopt a pragmatic and positive China policy.

Xi said that it's important to respect each other's development paths. Chinese modernization and European integration are strategic choices China and the EU have made with the two sides' respective futures in mind. The Chinese people take pride in choosing the right development path for themselves in light of China's national reality. The two sides should seek common ground while shelving differences, and learn to accommodate, appreciate, draw upon and facilitate each other's development. Playing up the so-called "democracy vs. authoritarianism" narrative and stoking a new Cold War will only bring division and confrontation to the world, Xi added.

He stressed the importance of maintaining an open and trusting environment for cooperation, saying China and the EU should keep their markets open to each other, provide a fair and nondiscriminatory environment for businesses from the other side, and avoid turning economic and trade matters into political or national security issues.

Xi also underlined that China champions true multilateralism and a global governance vision featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit. China and the EU need to jointly uphold global stability and prosperity, and stand against hegemonism, unilateralism and attempts to decouple economies or sever supply chains. The two sides need to step up macroeconomic and financial policy communication and coordination, deepen their green partnership, and increase dialogue and cooperation on green financing, environment-friendly technologies and clean energy.

China and the EU also need to help other developing countries, encourage multilateral institutions and private capital to contribute more to implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, and explore cooperation in Africa and other regions involving three or more parties, Xi added.

Von der Leyen noted that the EU respects China's history and culture. Frank and constructive dialogue with China and continuous development of EU-China relations are crucial for peace and stability in Europe. The EU and China are each other's important trading partners and the two economies are highly intertwined. Decoupling from China is neither in the EU's interests nor the EU's strategic choice.

The EU sets its China policy independently. It would like to restart the High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue and advance steady and balanced growth of economic and trade ties with China for mutual benefit, von der Leyen said.

She, representing the EU, congratulated China for hosting a successful United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and commended China's efforts to cut carbon emissions. The EU stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with China to jointly meet global challenges and contribute to peace, stability and development in the world, von der Leyen said.

Macron noted that in a world full of uncertainties, the EU and China need to enhance dialogue and exchange with mutual respect, openness and humility. The two sides should work with each other to stay away from the trap of economic decoupling and severing supply chains, carry out mutually-beneficial cooperation on an equal footing, tackle pressing global challenges such as climate change, and keep deepening the EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

The three leaders exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Von der Leyen and Macron agreed that China did not create the Ukraine crisis, and said that they appreciate China's efforts to promote a political settlement and look forward to China playing a more important role. They also said that they are prepared to work with China to find a way to facilitate talks for peace.

Xi stressed that China's position on Ukraine boils down to supporting talks for peace. China calls on the parties to be calm and rational and jointly create conditions for peace talks. The pressing priority is to bring about a ceasefire and oppose actions that further inflame or complicate the situation.

The Ukraine crisis is not an issue between China and the EU. China will continue to play a positive role in facilitating peace talks. China supports EU efforts to propose approaches and plans for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework, which serves the fundamental and long-term interests of the EU, Xi said.