President Xi’s European Visit Signals New Era of China-EU Cooperation
In Amsterdam, China and the Netherlands vowed to establish an “open, pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation.” In Brussels, China and Belgium declared the establishment of an “all-round partnership of friendship and cooperation.”
These new formulations for bilateral relations between China and EU members are unique and practical, implying closer contact. They are not merely formalist rhetoric, but rather a new positioning with substantive content, representing breakthroughs in setting equal relationships between large and small countries. They are hence of great significance.
China-EU Economic Relations Usher in New Opportunities for Closer Cooperation
China and the EU reiterated their mutual intent to strengthen mutual comprehensive economic cooperation and safeguard an open world economy while fighting against protectionism. Their aim is to reach an important consensus as follows: 1. Continue to negotiate and complete bilateral investment treaties; 2. Sign bilateral free-trade agreements when conditions are ripe; 3. Explore possibilities proposed by China for cooperation along the Silk Road Economic Belt; 4. Transform the China-EU Urbanization Partnership towards specific cooperation; and 5. Strengthen bilateral cooperation on finance and the RMB. The intention to cooperate involves the vital interests of both parties and, if all goes smoothly, will greatly advance China-EU comprehensive economic cooperation.
During Xi’s visit, the European media expressed concern about specific cooperation projects between Chinese and European companies. For example, the Dongfeng Motor Group’s €800 million purchase of a 14-percent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroen made it a major shareholder, along with the French government and the Peugeot family. The deal created a new cooperative model between Chinese and European companies for joint development and collaborative investment, production, and dealings with third-party markets. President Xi also visited the Ghent plant of the Volvo Car Corporation in Belgium. Purchased by China’s Geely Automobiles, the Volvo deal embodies the encouraging momentum of Chinese auto companies “going global” by cooperating more closely with European peers.
In the aviation sector, Chinese and European companies agreed on a new cooperation arrangement in the latest Airbus A320 model, exploring expanded technological cooperation to big airplanes like the Airbus A330 and Shanghai C919. This signifies China and Europe’s upgrading of traditional cooperation on large-scale projects to higher levels such as nuclear power. This constitutes the motivation behind President Xi Jinping’s proposal to Chancellor Angela Merkel that China and Germany take on larger strategic cooperation projects on their road towards collaborative investment, research and development, and production.
Cooperation in the financial field also shows progress. China has agreed to list the Paris Financial Market as a trading venue for its Eurozone investments and where the EU invests in China. China has also agreed to allocate to France the RQFII quota of RMB 80 billion, and is negotiating establishment of an RMB clearing and settlement center in Paris. Meanwhile, China also supported the establishment of an RMB clearing mechanism in Frankfurt. In short, Xi’s visit created new opportunities for a comprehensive leap from quantity to quality in bilateral economic cooperation.
Promising Prospects for China-EU Cultural and Educational Cooperation
Public opinion across the world generally interpreted Xi Jinping’s speeches and talks on various occasions, along with his signed articles published in different countries, as reflecting Eastern wisdom, thought and philosophy, as well as his accomplishments in history and culture. For example, Xi elaborated many times on the importance of cultural exchanges and of learning from different civilizations and peoples. In his speech delivered at the UNESCO headquarters, Xi said that civilizations are diverse yet equal, and also inclusive. According to this understanding, there are no grounds for any “clash of civilizations.” Exchange and learning among different civilizations helps different peoples understand one other while strengthening friendship, thereby protecting peace, stability and world prosperity.
From a different perspective, Xi also persuasively explained that China is taking the road of peaceful development, and exactly what the Chinese dream means. He pointed out that the road of peaceful development is not merely an expedient or diplomatic rhetoric, but a conclusion drawn from the objective judgments of history, current realities and the future. For example, Xi said, “Historically, China has been one of the most powerful countries in the world, yet it has no record of colonization or of invading other countries.” He emphasized, “China will not follow the footsteps of big powers that sought hegemony once they grew strong, but rather, it will adhere to peaceful development.” Xi also reiterated that the Chinese dream is a dream of peace, happiness and dedication in the world, and expressed hopes that Europe and the rest of the world might properly view and understand China. China and France have consequently decided to establish a high-level people-to-people exchange mechanism, and China and the EU have agreed to implement the China-EU Year of Intercultural Dialogue. China and Germany, meanwhile, are to jointly make plans for the Year of Innovation and Cooperation. Xi also announced a plan to establish Chinese cultural centers in Brussels and the Netherlands, and the first “China Library,” at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
It is inspiring to witness the rising trend of people-to-people exchanges between China and Europe. As of the end of last year, China had set up 115 Confucius Institutes and 147 Confucius Classrooms in the EU. Joint China-EU teaching projects in China now surpass 600, and the total number of Chinese students in EU countries and students from the EU in China reached about 300,000. Moreover, 2.38 million or more Chinese traveled to the EU, and 3.17 million people from the EU came to China. Xi’s visit will doubtless swell these figures in the near future.
