BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang held a phone conversation with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on April 22 at the latter's request.

Premier Li once again congratulated Nehammer on his assuming office as the Austrian chancellor.

Noting Austria is China's important cooperative partner in the European Union (EU), Premier Li said that since the diplomatic ties were established 51 years ago, China-Austria relations have transcended the differences in their systems, cultures, and development levels, with cooperation between the two sides continuously deepening.

In 2018, President Xi Jinping and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, decided to establish China-Austria friendly strategic partnership, lifting the relationship to a new level, Premier Li noted.

China, he said, is ready to strengthen dialogue and communication with Austria, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and push forward sound and stable development of China-Austria relations.

Premier Li pointed out that the current international and regional situation is complex and volatile, and economic globalization is facing headwinds.

As China and the EU are comprehensive strategic partners, both major economies in the world and important trading partners of each other, they should all the more stick to two-way opening-up and cooperation, strengthen communication and dialogue, and jointly send a signal of stable development of China-EU relations and active progress of bilateral cooperation, so as to ensure smooth logistics between China and the EU, stable industry chains and supply chains as well as food security and energy security, he added.

Premier Li stressed that opening-up is China's basic national policy, which has not only boosted growth for the country itself, but also brought benefits for the world, and the policy will never waver.

No matter how the international landscape may change, China will remain committed to opening-up and deepening bilateral and multilateral international cooperation, he said, adding that a large open Chinese market will always be a magnet for enterprises from all over the world, including Austria, to invest and develop their businesses.

For his part, Nehammer said that Austria and China have maintained a sound relationship for a long time, and the two countries have carried out successful cooperation in various fields.

Noting that China is a vital participant in international affairs, he said that Austria cherishes its relations with China, adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to continue deepening cooperation with China and to promote further development of Austria-China friendly strategic partnership.

Austria supports the strengthening of dialogue and communication between the EU and China as well as the continuous improvement of EU-China relations, Nehammer said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue.

Premier Li elaborated on China's principled position, pointing out that China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace, upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, observes international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

He expressed the hope that all parties will jointly promote relevant parties to achieve a ceasefire and end the conflict through dialogue and negotiation, especially to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis.