President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister David Cameron visit a pub in Princess Risborough, near Chequers, England, on Thursday. (PHOTO BY WU ZHIYI/CHINA DAILY)
The diplomatic interaction between China and the European Union is being pushed to new heights, following a wave of high-level bilateral visits. Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the visiting Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing on Monday, just a week after Xi's state visit to the United Kingdom. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are scheduled to start their visits to China soon. Comments:
In the longer run, China's interaction with the European Union will further enhance their mutual understanding and trust, enabling Chinese enterprises to learn from the EU's advanced technologies and standards, and allowing the EU to get a better understanding of China's investment policies as well. In particular, the emerging cooperation between China and some East and Central European nations is a highlight of China's European diplomacy.
haiwainet.cn, Oct 27
Admittedly, China and Europe have different thoughts, even disparities, on certain issues, and differences in their cultural traditions, political institutions, and social development. But both sides have managed to reach a consensus on maintaining a healthy bilateral relationship based on dialogues and negotiations to handle their disputes, such as the frictions over the trade in telecommunication equipment. Their close coordination over more than four decades proves that a "clash of civilizations" can well be avoided.
Guangming Daily, Oct 17
The increasingly close China-EU bond is in the interests of both major European powers such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, and the less developed East European countries. China's multilateral diplomacy can also benefit from its benign cooperation with the EU. The special relationship will play a key, even primary, role in both sides' diplomatic agenda.
Ta Kung Pao newspaper, Oct 8
Given the great potential and complementariness between the Chinese and European economies, their economic cooperation is likely to play an essential part in the global industrial chain. The Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the grand projects introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, will certainly require Europe's participation to proceed. Undoubtedly, Europe is becoming more important to both Chinese diplomacy and enterprises that aim to "go global".
Wu Jianmin, a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of China's Foreign Ministry, Oct 21
