BEIJING, May 5, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying state visits
to France, Serbia, and
Hungary from May 5 to 10. This marks the first visit to
Europe by China's head of state in five years. Despite
significant changes in the world over the past five years, the
relationship between China and the
three countries has remained stable under the strategic guidance of
head-of-state diplomacy, showing a positive development momentum.
This situation is hard-won. President Xi's visit to the three
countries will open a new chapter in the relationship between
China and the three countries, as
well as the broader China-Europe
relationship.
Many observers have noted that the three countries visited by
President Xi this time are representative in their own ways:
France was the first major Western
country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China at the
ambassadorial level, and China-France
relations have long been at the forefront of the relations between
China and the West. Serbia is
China's first comprehensive
strategic partner in Central and Eastern
Europe, and is China's
"iron-clad friend." Hungary is an
important country in Central and Eastern
Europe and is also an important partner for China in advancing joint Belt and Road
cooperation and China-Central and
Eastern European cooperation. It is entirely reasonable to expect
that starting with the three countries, the main theme of friendly
cooperation between China and
Europe will run through the entire
visit.
An important signal released by the Chinese leader's visit to
Europe is that regardless of how
the international situation changes, China's desire to expand cooperation with
Europe and support Europe's strategic autonomy remains
unwavering.
It can be said that the diplomacy of the head of state is the
anchor that keeps the China-Europe
giant ship stable and on course in the face of storms. Taking
France as an example, although
there have been ups and downs in China-EU relations in the past few years, the
cooperative attitude and position of China and France on many global governance issues have
remained stable, which is directly related to the diplomacy of the
head of state. Since last year, exchanges at all levels between
China and Europe have been fully restarted, and
China's patience and goodwill are
increasingly recognized by more Europeans. For Europe, China
is an opportunity, not a risk, and a partner, not a rival. Overall,
Europe's willingness to cooperate
with China is increasing.
Before President Xi's visit, French President Macron said in
interviews with media that in terms of the EU's openness to the
Chinese market, "we have to be very pragmatic and look at this
issue in the light of our strategic interests." Macron stated that
he welcomes President Xi's visit and "we must do everything we can
to engage China on major global
issues and discuss economic relations based on reciprocity."
"Whether it's about climate or about safety, we need the Chinese,"
he noted. Macron's words are not only directed at France, but also Europe.
We believe that under the strategic leadership of the
head-of-state diplomacy, China and
Europe will reach at least three
strategic tacit agreements. First, China and Europe are not opponents, let alone enemies,
but friends and partners who can trust each other. China and Europe have never become obstacles to each
other's core interests. The differences between China and Europe in values, political systems, and
development models provide a basis for mutual learning and
complementarity, rather than setting up "targets." Second, the
success of China and Europe's respective development is "good news"
for each other, not "bad news." China will continue to support Europe in achieving strategic autonomy, and
the more Europe develops, the more
stable the West will be; Europe
should also open its minds, embrace and support China to advance Chinese modernization. The
more China develops, the more
prosperous the Asia-Pacific region
will be. Third, on important global issues, China and Europe can jointly build new connections
across regions, civilizations, and fields, work together to help
the world and each other achieve development and inject positive
energy into the turbulent world.
There is a saying in Serbia, "Friends are fruits of time." This
is particularly apt in the context of China-Europe
relations: Time will prove what true partners are like. We look
forward to President Xi's state visits to the three European
countries, injecting strong momentum into the further development
of China's relations with the
three countries and the China-EU comprehensive strategic
partnership, and injecting more stability and positive energy into
the turbulent world.
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SOURCE Global Times