BEIJING — China and Europe jointly promoting anti-epidemic cooperation and economic recovery would benefit both sides and the whole world, Vice-Premier Liu He said in Beijing on July 28.

Liu made the remarks during the 8th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, co-chaired via video link with Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president of the European Commission.

In the meeting, the two sides conducted in-depth, candid and practical discussions on the theme of "Post-COVID-19 China-EU Cooperation, Promote Steady Recovery and Growth for Global Economy" and achieved a series of fruitful results on jointly fighting the epidemic, global economic governance, industrial and supply chain security, China-EU investment agreement negotiations, WTO reform, expansion of market openings, the digital economy, interconnectivity, and financial and taxation cooperation.

Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations, they said the China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue was of great significance against the backdrop of COVID-19 and the severe impact on the world economy.

The two sides agreed to work together to implement the important consensus reached between their leaders.

They agreed to enhance mutual understanding, create certainty amid uncertainty, enhance market confidence, and jointly promote China-EU economic and trade cooperation to a new level in the post-epidemic era.

Liu said the COVID-19 epidemic was a common challenge for humanity. "As two major global economies, China and Europe jointly promote global unity in fighting the pandemic, promote the economic recovery, and jointly safeguard multilateralism and the free trade system, which is beneficial to China, Europe and the whole world," he said.

Dombrovskis said the EU and China were important cooperative partners, and promoting the development of EU-China relations was in the common interests of both sides.