Beijing, 4 Apr (ZXS) -- There are new moves in the ongoing "hot season" of China's diplomacy. At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a state visit to China from April 4 to 4. In addition, as agreed between China and the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also visit China at the same time.
As two major forces, two markets and two civilizations in the world, the interaction between China and Europe has attracted special attention from the outside world. Some experts pointed out that the simultaneous start of the trip to China by the heads of state of major European powers and the leaders of major EU institutions has broken diplomatic practice to a certain extent and is a relatively rare diplomatic arrangement. Looking forward to the visit of the two, it is worth paying attention to in at least three dimensions.
Promote new achievements in Sino-French cooperation
This is the first visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to China since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, and the two heads of state will have another face-to-face dialogue after last year's G20 Bali summit. Experts pointed out that this will help to further jointly plan and lead the future development of China-France relations and open up new prospects for Sino-French cooperation.
In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-France relations have maintained a positive momentum of development, and Sino-French strategic cooperation has long been at the forefront of Sino-Western cooperation. Even during the epidemic, high-level exchanges between the two sides were frequent, multiple dialogue and consultation mechanisms were effectively operated, and the bilateral trade volume exceeded US$2021 billion in 800, a record high. Some commentators have said that Sino-French relations have become one of the bilateral relations with the highest political mutual trust, the strongest predictability and the most potential achievements between China and Western powers.
Through this visit, the cooperation between the two sides is expected to achieve new results. Cui Hongjian, director of the Institute of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, noted that Macron will lead a large business and cultural delegation to China this time. "China-France relations will continue the positive, healthy and upward keynote, explore new growth points in traditional fields such as aerospace, civil nuclear energy, agri-food, etc., and expand cooperation possibilities in new fields such as green energy and scientific and technological innovation.
Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, believes that this will have a more intuitive feeling for the French and European sides to fully understand China, especially China's new measures in reform and opening up. "Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and this visit will become an important engine for restarting Sino-French relations in the post-epidemic period."
Tap into new momentum for China-Europe development
In recent years, under the influence of external forces, the divergence of China's policy within the EU has increased, which has brought certain challenges to China-EU relations. The outside world believes that the in-depth exchange of views between China and France and China and the EU through high-level exchanges will help stimulate the constructive understanding of China within Europe and tap new development momentum for China-EU relations.
After years of development, China and the EU have formed a strong economic symbiotic relationship, with bilateral trade in goods reaching US$2022.8473 billion in 2, a year-on-year increase of 4.20%. This year marks the <>th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU, and at a critical juncture in the relationship between the two sides, China and the EU are also interested in seeking new opportunities for cooperation. Zhao Ping, vice president of the Research Institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, believes that China and the EU have complementary economic structures and have extensive common interests in many fields, especially for Europe, which is currently mired in energy crisis and economic difficulties, it is very important to expand pragmatic cooperation in bilateral economic and trade fields.
In addition to creating new momentum in the economic and trade field, Cui Hongjian pointed out that the ability to manage differences will become a driving force for the further development of China-EU relations. "Europe is experiencing more complex policy discussions and even debates on China, from economic and trade relations to political mutual trust, both sides should adhere to mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, overcome interference and difficulties, focus on consensus and cooperation, and promote the healthy, stable and long-term development of China-EU relations."
Analysts believe that promoting people-to-people exchanges is also a major focus of the visit. After three years of the pandemic, both China and the EU have an urgent need to restart people-to-people dialogue and exchanges and resume normal people-to-people exchanges, and the leaders' meeting is expected to send an important positive signal in this regard, and promote the multi-level and all-round new development of China-EU people-to-people exchanges on the basis of summarizing the experience of the China-EU high-level people-to-people exchange dialogue mechanism.
Seek a new consensus to deal with the changing situation
The current international situation is chaotic and intertwined, geopolitical conflicts have intensified, and the post-pandemic economic recovery has been weak. European dignitaries have visited China intensively, "looking east", hoping to find ways to cope with the changes with China. European media pointed out that this visit will help further ease international environmental tensions and bridge ideological gaps to jointly address global challenges.
"The world is facing increasing uncertainty, which is particularly felt in European countries." Cui Hongjian believes that through the intensive visits of European leaders to China, the two sides are constantly enriching their understanding of the world pattern by developing their relations, and look forward to forming more consensus and coming up with more solutions on the basis of the original cooperation.
The Ukraine crisis is the most immediate geopolitical risk facing Europe, and its spillover effects continue to affect the world. Feng Zhongping, director of the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that although China and the EU have different views on this issue, they can find consensus to deal with the crisis through dialogue and find intersection on the basis of their respective positions.
The global economy is currently facing a revival due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the Ukraine crisis has further put pressure on the economies of European countries. Some voices said that Macron's visit to China at the same time as European Commission President von der Leyen hopes to take this opportunity to solve the dilemma of economic development. If this visit can promote the "thawing" of the China-EU investment agreement, it will undoubtedly further release the potential of China-EU cooperation. "I believe that through this visit, the leaders of the two sides will seek more new consensus and provide more political will for the healthy and stable development of China-EU economic and trade relations." Chen Fengying said. (End)