Top Chinese diplomat warns against regressing to cold war

Rome: China does not want another Cold War, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a trip to Italy on Tuesday, which is aimed at strengthening Beijing’s ties with Europe.

“Chinese is against the Cold War mentality. It does not want a Cold War because this would be a step backwards in our historical development,” the minister said at a news conference in Rome.

Wang, who met with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio earlier in the day, said China would not let other countries start a Cold War to the detriment of the international community.

He said that his visit to Rome proved that ties between Italy and China had withstood the pandemic. Di Maio said they had signed two deals on Italian gas and agricultural exports to China.

The Chinese diplomat will also visit the Netherlands, Norway, France and Germany. This is his first foreign trip since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.