Passengers in a common boat

Lady Ashton and I also discussed many topical issues in the world, such as the financial crisis, the situation in West Asia and North Africa and the devastating disasters in Japan. West Asia and North Africa are in Europe's neighborhood and closer to you geographically than to us. China sincerely hopes that these regions can return to stability soon, that their economies can have good growth and their people can have better lives. We hope these regions can enjoy their due standing and dignity in the world. We always believe that the issues of the world should be resolved through dialogue and political means, rather than force. We need to trust that the relevant peoples have the wisdom and capacity to solve their own problems and find development paths suited to their national conditions.

We also discussed the issue of human rights. We agreed to hold the next round of the China-EU Human Rights Dialogue in June. I set forth China's position on human rights and informed Lady Ashton of the historic progress China has made in this area. Let me tell you that China is a country with a long history and civilization and political wisdom. We are good at learning from our own and others' experiences. We will follow our own path in keeping with our national conditions and remain firmly committed to the path of peaceful development. Lady Ashton said that China is not Europe. I might add that Europe is not China either. China and Europe should respect each other, interact harmoniously and seek common development and prosperity. We are both determined to focus on cooperation so as to benefit the people of China and Europe.

I wish to thank the Government of Hungary for providing good facilities for our dialogue. Godollo is a beautiful and historically famous little town. My colleagues and I are very appreciative of the warm and friendly reception and very thoughtful arrangements Lady Ashton and the EU side made for us.

Two days from now, I will be back in Beijing for the visit of President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. We wish his visit to China a great success. Thank you.

The author is China's State councilor. The article is the remarks Dai made to the press after the Second Round of the China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue in Hungary on May 12.

(China Daily 05/16/2011 page8)