Since 2003 China and the European Union (EU) have achieved remarkable progress in bilateral relations, advancing the further development of their all-round strategic partnership. 

The international situation underwent profound changes in 2003. The Bush administration's efforts to seek hegemony under the pretext of anti-terrorism - in particular the US-led war in Iraq without UN authorization and without any convincing excuses -seriously undermined the foundation of international law and the authority of the UN.

To safeguard the justice of international law and the leading role of the UN in resolving international disputes, China and the EU, especially key members France and Germany, have worked hard for democracy in international relations and opposed any unilateralist military action to settle international disputes.

The joint parallel efforts in opposing the US-led war in Iraq from the beginning and in advocating a full play of the UN in Iraq's post-war reconstruction have further expanded common strategic grounds between China and the EU and narrowed their differences.

The publication of policy papers by China and the EU toward each other in a synchronized manner has further strengthened bilateral cooperation.

China's EU Policy Paper, the first one of its kind which highlights the objectives of China's policy and outlines its cooperation areas with the community, signals that China attaches great importance to the EU.

Similarly, the EU's Policy Paper also drafts its primary goal of integrating China into the international community politically and economically and supports China's transition toward a more open society. The paper demonstrates the EU has recognized the increasingly important role of China in the international arena.

Through exchanges of mutual visits and meetings on multilateral occasions, the leaderships of China and the EU have established a solid personal relationship, facilitating the further development of political and economic ties.

Meanwhile, economic and trade relations between China and the EU have developed rapidly with areas of cooperation further expanded and a multi-strata cooperation structure shaped.

In 2003, the trade volume between the two increased to US$125.22 billion, up 44.4 percent from US$87.66 billion in 2002.

Currently China and the EU are each other's third largest trading partner, and the EU is the largest technology and equipment supplier and the fourth largest source of investment to China. The two partners have so far extended their cooperation to the fields of science and technology, information industry, energy, environmental protection, culture and education, as well as medical and healthcare. An extensive and intensive cooperative network has already taken shape.

This smooth cooperation is founded on a series of factors.

First, there is no conflict of fundamental interests between the two sides in terms of geopolitics and strategic intention. Neither poses a threat to the other. With the return of Hong Kong and Macao to China, there are no historical issues remaining between China and Europe.

Moreover, EU members adhere to the one-China principle, and China understands and respects the EU's decision for an enlargement of its membership. Both sides would like to see a more active role from the other in the international arena.

Second, China and the EU are economically complementary and can benefit greatly from economic cooperation.

As the world's largest developing country, China now ranks sixth in terms of economic aggregate and fourth in trade volume.

A more open and market-oriented China, which is now enlisting all forces available to promote its modernization drive, needs investment and advanced technologies from outside, and the industrialized EU members boast leading technologies, abundant capital and rich management expertise.

China's World Trade Organization membership and its more active approach to international mechanisms have sprouted a more promising prospect for Sino-EU cooperation in this regard.

It is also undeniable that China and EU members, due to the differences in their political systems, values, historical traditions, cultural backgrounds and development levels, have different views on a number of international issues and some contradictions and even frictions in bilateral relations.

For example, the two sides have their own understandings and viewpoints on the human rights issue and the principle of free trade. But the differences can be completely resolved through dialogue, and should not become a long-standing obstacle to the smooth advancement of bilateral relations. After all, differences can not overpower the common ground between the two sides.

Cooperation between China and the EU will inevitably bear more rich fruits and contribute more to world peace, stability and development as long as the two sides hold a strategic and long-term perspective, understand and respect the diversity of the other, and resolve their differences in the spirit of dialogues and consultations.

(The author is former president of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and China's former ambassador to Germany.)

(China Daily April 12, 2004)