China and the European Union (EU) should jointly resist the adverse tides of hatred and confrontation instigation, and stand firmly on the right side of history, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Sunday.

In a speech at the French Institute of International Relations, Wang said the world has been undergoing changes which have rarely seen in a century, and the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak undoubtedly accelerated the changes.

"Currently, COVID-19 is eroding human life and health. The world has fallen into a deep recession. Global governance is facing serious dilemmas with huge tides of unemployment, bankruptcies and supply chain disruptions as well as the ever growing deficits in governance, development and trust," Wang said.

Facing the changes and the pandemic rarely seen in a century, mankind faces again the key choice of whether to go forward or backward, unite or divide, open up or close up, he said.

Anyone who attempts to go against the rolling trend of the times will be unpopular and can not go far, Wang said.

Standing at the important crossroads of the social development of mankind, China and Europe should take a responsible attitude toward the future of mankind, take the fundamental interests of the people of both sides into consideration, jointly resist the adverse tides of hatred and confrontation instigation and stand firmly on the right side of history, so as to provide more stability for the complicated and changing world, Wang said.

Firstly, China and the EU should safeguard peaceful development firmly and jointly oppose attempts to split the world.

It has long been proved that strong-arming others can only lead to arms race and security dilemma, while confrontation between different camps will result in the falling apart of international cooperation, Wang noted.

He stressed that China, as a responsible major country, opposes firmly any attempt to start a new "Cold War" and will never allow any force to deprive the Chinese people and the people of the world of the right to seek development and a good life.

Wang said that China is willing to send a strong message together with Europe: Persist in unity, oppose division; stick to progress, oppose backward going; insist on peaceful development, oppose conflict and confrontation.

Secondly, China and the EU should strongly uphold multilateralism and jointly oppose unilateral bullying which has intensified and posed the biggest challenge to the multilateral international order.

"We can't allow power politics to drag the world back into that 'law of the jungle'; can't allow unilateralism to hinder the advance toward more democratic international relations," Wang said.

Wang pledged that China will uphold firmly multilateralism, and advocate and implement global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, no matter how the international situation changes.

China regards the EU as an important force in the process of multi-polarization and stands ready to work with the EU to safeguard the effectiveness and authority of the multilateral system, and a fair and just international order, Wang said.

Thirdly, China and the EU should continue to promote mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly oppose decoupling and estrangement, said the Chinese foreign minister.

The historical trend of globalization, which is moving forward despite twists and turns, is irreversible, and the global industrial and supply chains are inseparable. Forced decoupling by certain countries is not only against market rules and reality, but also goes against the interests of the people of the world, Wang noted.

China and the world today have long been intertwined, which means trying to decouple with China means to decouple with development opportunities and the most dynamic market of huge size, he said.

As two major economies of the world, China and the EU should stick to free trade and jointly protect the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, so as to play a key role in promoting global development and prosperity in the post-epidemic era, Wang said.

Fourthly, China and the EU should jointly respond to global challenges and oppose the "beggar-thy-neighbor" strategy.

Human interdependence has never been as tight as it is now, and risks had never been as frequent and unpredictable as they are today, Wang said. Non-traditional security challenges such as climate change, cyber security, terrorism and cross-border crimes pose real threats to the world, while global challenges similar to the pandemic crisis will happen again in the future.

China and the EU should set an example for promoting global governance, work together to enhance the coordinative role of the United Nations in international affairs, oppose jointly the practice of putting own interests above others' and gaining self-interest at the expense of others, and join hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.