China is a "selective partner", "competitor" and "systemic rival". Portuguese foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said while  addressing a webinar with foreign minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday.

"The way we see institutions, political fundamentals, human rights the role of civil society is very different when you see from the point of view of Brussels or when you speak from the view of Brussels or when you speak from the view of Beijing," Silva said at a webinar organised by Observer Research Foundation think tank. "That is why in these crucial areas, our partner in Asia is not China but India," he added. Portugal currently holds the presidency of the council of the European Union.

Jaishankar took a more restained approach and said, " In the past 25 years, the rise of China has been one of the defining transformational trends."

Jaishankar emphasised the importance of open supply chains, specially in the middle of the pandemic. He said to scale up vaccine production to meet the challenge of the inoculating the world.

(With inputs from the agencies)