No reason for China and EU not to be partners

With the European Union feeling betrayed by the “America first” Donald Trump administration on many fronts, including trade and the Ukraine crisis, some Western observers have tried to characterize Beijing’s reaching out to the EU at this juncture as opportunistic.

But they should be reminded that diplomatic engagements such as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Ireland on Monday take careful planning and time to arrange, rather than being impromptu or opportunistic.

China and Ireland are both strong advocates of multilateralism and free trade, and China is willing to work with the Western European country to enhance their mutually beneficial cooperation, making it bigger, stronger, deeper and more concrete, in order to achieve shared development and prosperity, as Wang told Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin during their meeting in Dublin on Monday.

That Wang struck a similar chord in his meeting with Kaja Kallas, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy of the European Commission, as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Czech and French counterparts, during their respective meetings on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich late last week, only serves to show that China views its relations with the EU from a strategic and long-term perspective.

China and the EU have extensive common interests, and their cooperation is greater than competition. The two sides also have more consensuses than differences.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations, the two sides should take this as an opportunity to review the experiences of their successful cooperation, reaffirm their strategic partnership, uphold dialogue and cooperation as the guiding principles, stick to the fundamental tone of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and remain strategic partners based on mutual respect, trust, and long-term stability, as Wang said during his meeting with Kallas.

There are no fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions between China and the EU, and the two sides have no reasons not to strengthen their bilateral relations in ways that best serve their common interests. China and the EU are major trading partners and investment targets. In 2024, the China-EU trade volume is forecast to have reached $785.8 billion, and the two-way investment stock $260 billion. China is willing to share its development opportunities with the EU and to promote the docking of its Belt and Road Initiative with the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative to promote common high-quality development.

As China continuously opens its door wider, it will offer more opportunities. China and the EU should fully recognize the complementary advantages, mutual benefit and win-win nature of their economic and trade cooperation. In the face of some trade frictions that have emerged, such as their disputes over the bloc’s “anti-subsidy” tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, the two sides should work together to properly handle them and maintain the stability of China-EU economic and trade cooperation.

The two sides should anchor the positioning of their partnership, adhere to dialogue and cooperation, maintain the main tone of mutual benefit and win-win collaboration, continue to be strategic partners, and work together to realize the bright prospects of peace, security, prosperity and progress.

Despite the challenges, China and the EU should be partners, not rivals. They should add more stability and certainty to the world, not more complexity and complications. As two major players on the world stage, China and the EU can provide stability and certainty in this time of turbulence and change, and provide more leadership and support for global development.

[Abridged]

Editorial, China Daily