ROME - State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Tuesday that his Europe trip has four main purposes, namely to continue the fight against COVID-19 with Europe, support Europe's unity and development, promote China-Europe relations and boost world peace and development.

Addressing a press conference together with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, Wang said that this visit aims to enhance the China-Europe joint fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the beginning of this year, facing the spread of the raging pandemic, China and Europe have helped each other and become paragons of international anti-pandemic cooperation, Wang said.

China is a country that advocates reciprocity and the Chinese nation has a tradition of helping those in distress, Wang said, stressing China will never forget Europe's help when it was hit hard by COVID-19 and would never just look on when Europe faces the same plight.

Noting that the outbreak in China is now effectively under control, Wang said China, as a member of the global village, stands ready to share anti-pandemic knowledge and experience, and provide necessary support so as to help Europe defeat the pandemic at an early date.

Wang said his visit aims to continue supporting Europe's unity and development. He said a united, stable and prosperous Europe benefits not only Europe but also the world, which is a consistent and clear stance as well as a strategic judgment of China's.

At present, under the impact of the pandemic, Europe's development faces new challenges, he said, adding that China will faithfully support the European integration process through practical actions, and remain a trustworthy strategic partner as Europe strives for unity and development, he said.

Wang said his visit also aims to continue promoting China-Europe relations. Facts have shown that the development of China-Europe relations not only benefits people on both sides, but also makes important contributions to world development, said Wang.

He said that currently the momentum of China-Europe relations is good in general, but is also suffering various instigations and even sabotage by external forces. For their common interests, both sides should firm up confidence, dispel disturbances and overcome the difficulties to maintain a healthy and stable development of China-Europe relations.

Wang said his visit also aims to further enhance world peace and development. At present, countries across the world are not only being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also facing the threats and challenges of unilateralism, protectionism and the resurgence of Cold War mentality.

As the world's two great civilizations and major forces, China wishes to strengthen communication and cooperation with Europe, hoping that both sides can jointly safeguard, by availing themselves of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the current international system based on multilateralism and make due contributions to help human history develop in the right direction, Wang said.

Italy is the first leg of Wang's European tour, which will also take him to the Netherlands, Norway, France and Germany.