Transatlantic rift is not a temporary blip

Speaking on Tuesday with visiting Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, who is now in Beijing for the second China-Portugal strategic dialogue at the foreign ministers' level, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that "China regards Europe as an important pole in a multipolar world".

China-European Union relations, which had been strained in recent years mainly due to Brussels embracing the previous US administration's hawkish stance on Beijing to curry favor with the United States, are seeing signs of warming-up lately — with high-level European officials either speaking positively about the mutually beneficial relationship or visiting the country to seek closer ties.

Apart from Rangel, the French foreign minister and Italy's Senate president are also scheduled to visit China and meet with top Chinese officials this week.