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President Xi Jinping met with President of the European Council Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing on Thursday. The meeting underscored that with mutual respect and constructive dialogue, the two sides can deepen cooperation and properly handle their differences, advancing shared interests while contributing to global stability.
Von der Leyen might be correct, to some extent, in saying that relations between the two sides have reached "an inflection point", but whether the relations will fare well in the future depends on whether the EU is willing to meet China halfway — working together to keep the relationship on the right course and standing on the right side of history.
President Xi put forward a three-point proposal to ensure that bilateral ties develop in a way that not only serves the common interests of both sides but also contributes to global peace and stability. That the EU side affirmed the vital importance of the proposal clearly indicates the common understanding of the two sides on the importance of their relationship, as well as how to enhance it by deepening cooperation and properly managing differences.
Much now depends on how the EU chooses to act on this shared understanding. A constructive, responsible and forward-looking response to the opportunities and challenges would help the two sides navigate this "historic juncture" and herald a more stable and promising future for relations that are grounded in mutual respect and strategic autonomy.
Whether the EU is willing to work with China to transform the outcome of the Thursday meeting into actions to help recalibrate and reinvigorate bilateral ties largely hinges on the EU developing a rational perception on China as a partner, rather than rival, and the nature of bilateral ties being cooperative, rather than competitive.
China is a peace-loving country that advocates harmony, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win results. China's stance on some burning issues has always been based on the right and wrong of the matter itself. It advocates peace and talks, and calls for the treatment of both the symptoms and root causes of the issues. China and the EU should support the peaceful settlement of international disputes through political means.
To gain an objective view of China, the EU should not observe the country through a tinted lens or gauge its development path with a Western caliper. An important reason that China can always view and develop China-EU relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective is because it can rationally view the EU as a key pole in a multipolar world. The EU needs to handle its China relations with due strategic autonomy, as the relations are not targeted at, dependent on, or subject to a third party.
The current challenges facing the EU do not come from China, a partner with which the bloc has no fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions. The deepening of their cooperation not only expands their common interest, but also provides more means, space and time for the two sides to settle the so-called "imbalance" in their ties, and more reasons for them to refrain from defining their ties with differences and competition that are increasingly dwarfed by consensus and cooperation.
The EU side should realize that interdependency is not a risk, and convergent interests are not a threat. As President Xi noted, boosting competitiveness should not rely on building walls or barriers, as decoupling and severing supply chains will only result in self-isolation.
President Xi pointed out that "reducing dependency" should not lead to reducing China-EU cooperation. The bilateral economic and trade relationship, which is by nature complementary and mutually beneficial, can indeed help achieve dynamic equilibrium through development.
China's high-quality development and high-standard opening-up will provide new opportunities and expand new space for China-EU cooperation, as proved by the broad spectrum of fields the two sides discussed, particularly their collaboration in the climate, green development and high-tech sectors, during the following 25th China-EU Summit on Thursday, which was jointly presided over by Premier Li Qiang and the EU leaders.
China and the EU have no reason not to deepen green and digital partnerships as well as mutual investment cooperation. It is hoped that the EU can remain an open trade and investment market, refrain from using restrictive policy tools, and foster a sound business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the bloc.
Over the past 50 years, China and the EU have developed into constructive forces that advocate multilateralism and open cooperation. The more severe and complex the international situation is, the more the two sides should strengthen their communication, enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation. At this critical juncture, as President Xi said, the leaders of the two sides should once again show their vision and responsibility, make strategic choices that meet the expectations of the people and stand the test of history, firmly grasp the correct direction of the Sino-EU relationship, and strive for a brighter future.
