On April 3, according to China and the EU, the President of the European Commission von der Leyen will visit China from April 5 to 7. Earlier on the same day, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced that French President Macron will pay a state visit to China from April 5th to 7th.
Executives from France Visit with Macron
A delegation of about 60 executives from France will also visit with Macron. Among them, there will be Electricite de France, Alstom, Veolia Group and Airbus.
Joël Ruet is the Chairman of the French Bridge Think Tank and member of the Energy Working Group of the G20 Business Summit. In bilateral economic relations, it is always important to start cooperation in areas with strong mutual strength and historical success stories. This also needs to develop over time.
Zhao Yongsheng is the director of the French Economic Research Center of the University of International Business and Economics in France. He said that the joint state visit of Maron and von der Leyen to China means something important. On the one hand, shows that Europe wants to speak with one voice; On the other hand, it also has economic and trade cooperation and strategic significance.
Von Der Leyen’s comments on China Europe Relations
On March 30, von der Leyen delivered a speech. We must leave room to discuss more ambitious partnerships and how we can make competition fairer and more disciplined.
She stated that ‘decoupling’ from China is neither feasible nor in line with European interests. In this way, Europe needs to focus not on decoupling from China, but on reducing risks.
On the same day, Chinese Ambassador to the European Union Fu Cong gave an interview to the Financial Times. He focused on clarifying China’s position on three main issues. They include China Europe relations, China Europe economic and trade cooperation, and the Ukrainian crisis.
Promoting China Europe Relations is the Future
Regarding China Europe relations, Fu Cong stated that China Europe relations have a solid foundation. European leaders have recently visited China one after another. The current world is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the prospects for global economic growth are bleak. As two major forces, two major markets, and two major civilizations, the importance of China and Europe working together to address global challenges and boost the global economy is becoming more prominent. We hope to actively promote China Europe relations, but this must be based on mutual respect. It is not in line with the trend of history to view the new era with old thinking without correct understanding.
On the issue of economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe, bilateral trade and investment between China and Europe achieved strong growth last year. And the European economic community is full of confidence in the Chinese market. But in recent years, the EU has introduced a series of trade policy tools, leading to an increase in protectionism. China Europe relations have been affected, and the problem is not with China. Politicizing the economic and trade relations between China and Europe goes against the expectations of all sectors of Europe and also harms Europe’s own interests.
Bilateral Trade is Expecting a Even Better Future per Macron Visit
The latest data shows that the total amount of goods exported by the EU to China in January this year was 16.1 billion euros, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year. The total bilateral trade in goods reached 49.4 billion euros, which is basically the same as the same period in 2020. China continues to maintain its position as the largest trading partner of the European Union.
The European Bureau of Statistics pointed out that compared to the same period last year, the export and import volume of EU goods in January this year decreased significantly. Among them, the total export volume of goods from the European Union reached 148.3 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 10.8%; The total import amount was 139.9 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 16.9%.
The Chinese market will remain a major opportunity for European countries. Let’s seize this opportunity for marketing in China.