Warming ties with Europe
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Globalization has widened common ground between China and France and the establishment of a multilateral cooperative mechanism aimed at improving global governance will serve their interests.
The two countries should learn from the setback in bilateral ties suffered two years ago. Paris should come to realize that sovereignty and territorial integrity are issues related to Beijing's core interests and respect Beijing's stance in this regard. The two countries should stick to the win-win principle and compromise in case disputes emerge in areas of bilateral trade and the economy.
Diplomatic elites in European countries often claim that China should no longer be seen as a developing country when discussing foreign policies toward the Asian nation. This indicates the intention of a number of European politicians to press for adjustments to their China policy in a bid to put more international onus on the nation.
Despite its rapid development in the past decades, China's status as a developing nation has not changed. Any demands raised by France and other European countries for China to undertake exorbitant international obligations disproportional to its national situation will stoke grievances among the Chinese public toward Europe, which will in turn undercut bilateral cooperation when tackling a wide range of international issues.
Another challenge to a smooth Sino-French relationship and a broader Sino-EU relationship is whether China and European countries can change the long-standing prejudices that European media and public hold toward China. According to a recent survey conducted by BBC, European countries, in comparison with the rest of the world, harbor the most negative opinions about China.
In addition to developing and strengthening its ties with Europe's political and business circles, China should also strive to further deepen exchanges with European media and nongovernmental organizations to enhance their understanding of its national conditions and its domestic and international policies. Expanded and deepened governmental and nongovernmental exchanges will help China maintain a stable relationship with France and Europe as a whole.
Europe is expected to forge ahead in its pursuit of a unified diplomacy and the bloc's political integration is irreversible. China's cooperation with Europe should therefore include strengthening cooperation with individual European countries and the EU as a whole. A stable relationship between China and European countries is expected to spearhead the development of Sino-EU ties.
The author is director of the Institute of European Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
