On July 7, 2023, Ambassador of P. R. China to the Republic of Croatia H. E. Mr. Qi Qianjin accepted an exclusive interview with the Croatian "Leader" magazine and answered questions on China-Croatia relations, China-EU relations, and Ukraine issues.

Ambassador Qi said China had always regarded Croatia as a good friend and an equal partner and developed exchanges and cooperation with Croatia in various fields based on mutual respect, equal treatment, mutual benefit, and win-win results. The relationship between the two countries had become a model of friendly cooperation between countries with different sizes, populations, and social systems. This year marked the 20th anniversary of China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. China had always viewed and developed China-EU relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, regarded the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner, regarded dialogue and cooperation as the main theme of China-EU relations, and maintained stability and continuity in its EU policy. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, there were no fundamental strategic differences or conflicts between China and the EU. The cooperation between the two sides was far greater than the competition, and the consensus was far greater than the differences. China supported the EU to play a greater and more active role in regional and international issues and its strategic autonomy.

Ambassador Qi pointed out that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China was marching toward the great goal of building a modern socialist country in an all-around way and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization. At the same time, China advocated building a community with a shared future for mankind, supported economic globalization, and realization of common prosperity and development for all countries. Some countries promoted economic hegemony, engaged in "decoupling and breaking chains", and built "small courtyards and high walls", which would damage the interests of most countries, including Croatia. Recently, European countries stated that "decoupling" with China was neither realistic nor desirable, and they had turned to "de-risking" with China. Ambassador Qi stated that China believed that the so-called "de-risking" should not mean "de-sinicization", otherwise many opportunities for cooperation would be lost. If "de-risking" meant pushing China out of the global supply chain, China would firmly oppose it.

Ambassador Qi emphasized that on the Ukrainian issue, China had always stood on the side of peace, and its core position was to promote peace and talks. China-EU relations were multi-faceted, not a single issue. China-EU relations were not targeted at, dependent on, or controlled by a third party. China-EU relations should not be tied to the Ukraine issue. China was neither the maker nor the party involved in the Ukrainian issue. Accusing China on this issue was untenable. China supported the EU in promoting the resumption of peace talks as soon as possible based on its own fundamental and long-term interests, taking into account the legitimate concerns of all parties, and building a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework. We also urged the US to stop fueling the flames and do more for peace.

Ambassador Qi said that in recent years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out that the world was undergoing major changes unseen in a century. Cooperation or confrontation? Open or closed? Mutual benefit and win-win or zero-sum game? The answer given by China was the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by President Xi Jinping. Its core content was to build a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, cleanliness, and beauty. China had always supported the international system with the United Nations as the core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and had always insisted on being a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and the curator of international order. President Xi Jinping had also successively put forward important diplomatic concepts such as global development initiatives, global security initiatives, and global civilization initiatives, hoping to inject more positive energy into world peace and bring more new opportunities for global development. China was willing to peacefully coexist and develop together with all countries based on mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, bridging differences through dialogue, resolving disputes through negotiation, and jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind.