BRUSSELS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A prosperous, united, and strong Europe is in the interest of China, so is a strong euro, the Chinese envoy to the European Union (EU) has said.
Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, made the remarks in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, according to an edited transcript of the interview provided by the mission on Sunday night.
Zhang was asked if China is trying to use the "16+1" mechanism, a platform created by China and 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in 2012, to divide the EU.
The senior diplomat said in the past six years since its inception, this cooperation mechanism has made good progress, and it has been well received by the 16 CEE countries.
"We believe that cooperation is mutually beneficial by nature. This is not only a good thing for the sixteen and the one, but also contributes to the balanced development of Europe as a whole," said Zhang.
"Eventually, that will be conducive to the EU integration process. So this cooperation mechanism, initiated by the sixteen CEE countries and China, is well intentioned. It is not geopolitically driven at all," he said.
"To divide Europe is not in the interest of China. Actually from day one of China-EU diplomatic relations over forty years ago, we have long commitment to the policy of supporting European integration," Zhang said.
China has never changed from this position and "the reason is simple. The European integration is conducive to a multi-polar world," he said.
