On July 24th, the 25th China EU Leaders’ Meeting was held in Beijing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Europe. Various sectors in Europe look forward to strengthening communication, enhancing mutual trust, and deepening cooperation between the two sides, in order to provide more stability and certainty for the world.
The fruitful achievements of China Europe cooperation
In the past 50 years, the annual trade volume between China and Europe has increased from 2.4 billion US dollars to 785.8 billion US dollars, a growth of more than 300 times, and investment has grown from almost zero to nearly 260 billion US dollars. The cooperation between China and the EU on the “the Belt and Road” has yielded excellent results: more than 110000 China EU regular trains have been operated in total, and the construction of projects such as the Hungarian Cypriot railway, the Greek port of Piraeus, and the Croatian Peleshac Sea Crossing Bridge has brought tangible benefits to the local people
Olof Skog, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service, stated that the daily average trade volume between Europe and China will reach 2 billion euros in 2024. From trade and investment, environmental protection, digital affairs to foreign and security policies and cultural exchanges, the two sides have extensively cooperated, comprehensively and deeply interacted, and achieved fruitful results.
Michael Borchman, former director of the European and International Affairs Department of Hesse, Germany, said that in the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides have achieved fruitful results in political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchanges. The story of Chinese and German enterprises joining hands to explore markets and deepen cooperation is fascinating, and this continuous atmosphere of cooperation itself is an important manifestation of the maturity of the relationship between the two sides
Michael Schuman, President of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade, said that the continuous deepening of the partnership and strengthening of mutually beneficial cooperation between Europe and China provide stable expectations and long-term development opportunities for German and even European manufacturing enterprises. China is not only an important market, but also an important partner for technological cooperation and joint innovation
Schumann said that in the past few years, various chaos from shipping delays to component shortages have shown that reliable partners are indispensable. When Europe seeks to enhance economic resilience, China becomes an ideal partner with its reliability and innovation. China has always fulfilled its commitments, not only through trade exchanges, but also through investment in European infrastructure and green technology, creating employment opportunities for both sides.
In recent years, EU countries have attached great importance to the development of green industries, and China has continuously increased the “green content” of its economic development. The two sides are highly compatible in the concept of green and low-carbon development, and green has become a distinctive background of China EU cooperation. The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, the Greek Thrace Wind Farm, and the German Deren Solar Park have become iconic achievements of China Europe green cooperation.
Luigi Gambaldera, President of the China Europe Digital Association, stated that China and Europe are jointly accelerating the transition to clean energy, promoting global development towards renewable energy, and improving energy efficiency. This consistency is not only crucial for global climate governance, but also lays the foundation for pragmatic cooperation between these two major economies in the world.
Carl Fei, a strategy professor at BI Norwegian Business School, said that China and the European Union share many common goals in green transformation, and their strengths can complement each other. Cooperation between the two sides will make a huge contribution to global green development.
Safeguarding multilateralism and promoting world prosperity together
Observers believe that as the two major forces and markets in the world, China and Europe should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in trade, investment, and other fields to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade, which can add more stability and certainty to the turbulent and intertwined world.
The potential for cooperation between Europe and China is unlimited, “Skog said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. The world expects China and Europe, as two important global forces, to work together to ease tensions and jointly uphold multilateralism.
Eric Solheim, Co Chair of the EU Asia Centre and former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, believes that Europe and China share common interests in multiple areas. Both sides have more similarities than differences. Europe should establish closer cooperation with China and the broader global South.
Karl Fischer stated that both China and the European Union are staunch supporters of free trade, and both sides should work together to uphold the free trade system and multilateral mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization, strive to maintain stability in bilateral relations, shape a stable and predictable environment in policy formulation and adjustment, and jointly contribute to global stability.
Schumann said that against the backdrop of rising global geopolitical risks and protectionism, it is particularly important for Europe and China to work together to uphold free trade and multilateralism. The cooperation between Europe and China is a commitment to openness, rules, and shared responsibility
Frank Williams, former chairman of the China Friendship Association, pointed out that both Europe and China oppose the United States’ imposition of tariffs, hope that the World Trade Organization can resume normal operations, and oppose unilateral sanctions against third countries, especially measures with a “long arm jurisdiction” nature. Europe and China should work together to uphold multilateralism, global supply chain integrity, and a free trade system.