Beijing scholars: China-EU economic and trade cooperation needs to build a bridge of trust

Recently, Eurostat released statistical data that in 2022, the total trade volume of 27 EU countries with China was 856.3 billion euros. Under the dual pressure of the COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine, the trade volume soared against the wind, a sharp increase of 22.8% over 2021, including 230.3 billion euros in exports to China (an increase of 3.0%), 626 billion euros in imports from China (an increase of 32.1%), and 395.7 billion euros in trade deficit (an increase of 58.1%). By the end of 2022, China is the second largest trading partner of the EU (15.4%), the first largest source of import (20.8%) and the third largest export market (9.0%).

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. How can we promote the stability of China-EU relations? Is there an opportunity to restart the China-EU trade agreement? What aspects can China-EU cooperation focus on in the future? Feng Xiaohu, president of the Chengdu Research Institute of the University of International Business and Economics, made an analysis and answer.

"Although the prospect of China-EU cooperation is not necessarily flat, China and the EU do not have geopolitical conflicts, and the EU does not have the political need to seek world hegemony at present, so it is difficult to set hostility with China as the priority of the EU." Feng Xiaohu believes that there are more than 70 permanent consultation and dialogue mechanisms between the Chinese government and the EU, and the two sides are engaged in global governance, climate change, and combating the epidemic, In particular, there is broad consensus on safeguarding world multilateralism.

"On February 18, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee, attended the Munich Security Forum. In four meetings, he twice mentioned that 'China and Europe are partners, not rivals', which fully showed China's positioning and expectations for China-EU relations." Feng Xiaohu said that the current EU's policy towards China has indeed fluctuated, and the voice of China's strength has indeed increased, but "the intensification of competition between China and Europe" is a false topic to some extent.

In 2023, the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism will enter the opening year of the second decade. In 2012, the trade volume between China and the Central and Eastern European countries was US $56.08 billion, which increased sharply to US $133.55 billion in 2021, a jump of 142.6%; The China-Europe train has opened more than 190 cities in 24 European countries, including 8 Central and Eastern European countries; Nearly 200 kinds of food, agricultural and sideline products from Central and Eastern European countries have entered the Chinese market, and the trade of agricultural products has increased by 61.34% in the past decade.

On February 8 this year, Ambassador Fu Cong, head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, attended the "60-minute briefing" of the European Policy Center, the European Union think tank. He proposed that "both sides should lift sanctions at the same time" to restart the China Investment Agreement.

"This is a practical and feasible proposal. Because the keywords such as' energy dependence 'and' Nga launched a natural gas war 'are currently prevalent in Western Europe, it is difficult to restart the EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement immediately, but this does not mean that China is completely unable to influence this process. The EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement It is beneficial to both China and the EU. Whether the agreement can be restarted depends on the joint efforts of both sides. How to restart is only a matter of time and technology. " Feng Xiaohu said.

At present, China has successfully stepped out of the epidemic phase. Feng Xiaohu further said that the least resistance to the future cooperation between China and the EU is climate cooperation, clean energy, electric vehicles, poverty eradication, ecological civilization and other aspects. These issues are worldwide problems, both theoretically and practically. China-EU practical cooperation and mutual trust will eventually lead to the resumption of the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement and the upgrading of the China-EU strategic partnership of cooperation. "

"There are ten thousand reasons for China and the EU to improve relations, and no one reason to spoil relations," Feng Xiaohu concluded.