"A 'New Cold War' between China and the U.S. is against the trend of history, and is an attempt to take hostage the people of the whole world to serve for the selfish interest of a few politicians," Chinese State Council and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday, as he met with the Italian foreign minister in Rome.

Wang is on a week-long tour in Europe, visiting Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, France and Germany. 

It is the first overseas trip of China's top diplomat since the COVID-19 outbreak.

"China will not forget how Europe helped us during COVID-19 outbreak, and we will surely not stand aside when Europe is facing similar challenges." Wang said in Rome.

Wang said China-Italy ties stood the test of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The two countries sent medical supplies to each other at critical times of need, aiming at humanitarian work, not politics. COVID-19 did not damage our relationship, but it strengthened it." He added.

Wang’s visit came as the U.S. Trump administration escalated tensions with Beijing. The U.S. closed Chinese consulate in Houston, imposed sanctions against Chinese officials over Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and continued to blame China for COVID-19 outbreak.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited several European countries, including the UK, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, and Slovenia, as part of Washington's effort to persuade Europe to take a tougher line against Beijing over issues ranging from Hong Kong affairs to Huawei's 5G deployment.

"My visit is aimed at world peace and closer cooperation with Europe to fight unilateralism and a Cold War mindset." Wang said.

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