BEIJING, May 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily
Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visits to France, Serbia, and Hungary mark a major diplomatic move by
China towards the European Union
(EU).
China and the EU are two major
forces advancing multipolarity, two major markets in support of
globalization, and two major civilizations championing diversity.
The development of China-EU relations is crucial to the direction
of the world development.
China and the EU do not have
clashing fundamental interests between them, or geopolitical and
strategic conflicts. Their common interests far outweigh their
differences. In the context of China-EU relations, the two
sides should be characterized rightly as partners. Cooperation
should be the defining feature of the relationship, autonomy its
key value, and win-win its future.
China always regards the EU as
a strategic force in the international landscape, and takes the
development of China-EU relations as a priority in its
diplomacy.
In the spring of 2014, Xi visited the EU Headquarters, where he
proposed to jointly forge four major China-EU partnerships for
peace, growth, reform and civilization. This vision remains
unchanged and holds even greater practical significance under
current circumstances.
As the world today is becoming increasingly uncertain and
unstable, it is crucial for both China and the EU to maintain close
communication and focus on mutually beneficial cooperation, whether
in driving their respective development or addressing global
challenges.
Facts have repeatedly proved that as long as China and the EU work together to set the
right direction and tone for China-EU relations, they can achieve
development that meets the interests of both sides and the
expectations of the people.
Currently, China is one of the
most important trading partners of the EU, and vice versa. Despite
the adverse effects of the global trade downturn, the total trade
volume between China and the EU
reached a remarkable $783 billion in
2023, with bilateral investment exceeding $250 billion.
China is ready to be
Europe's key partners for business
cooperation, priority partners for cooperation in science and
technology, and trustworthy partners for cooperation in industrial
and supply chains. The two sides have the potential to achieve
mutual success and shared prosperity.
China has been continuously
expanding high-level opening-up and fostering a world-class
business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and
internationalized. Multinationals in European countries such as
BMW, Volkswagen, Stellantis, and BASF, and SMEs such as SEB, a
producer of small domestic equipment, are strengthening cooperation
with their Chinese counterparts to seize new opportunities.
Cooperation between China and
the EU is steadily moving forward in emerging sectors such as
digital economy, green development and environmental protection,
new energy, and artificial intelligence.
According to the Business Confidence Survey 2023 released by the
European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), more than 90 percent of the
surveyed European companies plan to make China their investment destination. The 2023
Annual Report by the China Chamber
of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) shows that more than 80 percent of
surveyed Chinese companies plan to enhance their business in
Europe. Both China and the EU should do more to increase
the breadth and depth of cooperation and tighten the bond of shared
interests.
China's development and
progress present opportunities for the EU, and a healthy and stable
China-EU relationship will help the EU address its challenges. More
and more Europeans are recognizing that China is an important partner for the EU to
address energy and inflation challenges and enhance
competitiveness.
"Both the EU and China are firm
practitioners of world multipolarity, economic globalization, and
multilateral governance. Cooperation between the two sides serves
their common interests and directly affects global stability and
prosperity," said Yves Leterme, former prime minister of
Belgium, highlighting the global
significance of EU-China cooperation.
In recent years, China and the
EU have worked together to achieve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA) on Iranian nuclear issue and the Paris Agreement on
climate change, playing an important role in bridging the security
and governance deficits faced by the world.
China is the world's largest
developing country and Europe is
home to more developed countries than any other continent. They are
important to the world economy.
Both China and the EU should
remain vigilant in the face of a fragmented world economy and the
rising tide of protectionism, and continue to pursue openness,
uphold fair competition and free trade, avoid overstretching the
concept of security, and resist anti-globalization.
China welcomes the active
participation of the EU and other European countries in joint
pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development
Initiatives, and is ready to align with the EU's Global Gateway
strategy, so as to leverage the respective strengths to help
developing countries accelerate their development.
In the face of the changing and volatile international
situation, China and Europe need to build more "bridges." Both
sides should work together to practice multilateralism, advocate
openness and development, and facilitate dialogue between
civilizations. They should jointly build an equal and orderly
multipolar world and promote a universally beneficial and inclusive
economic globalization, making greater contributions to world
peace, stability, and prosperity.
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SOURCE People's Daily