German Chancellor Angela Merkel will kick off her second China visit in 18 months this week. Her previous visit last July had produced 10 contracts worth more than US$4 billion combined. So what's her main purpose of this visit starting today?

According to German media reports, Merkel will center her discussion with Chinese leaders on the global economy, particularly the euro zone crisis. She is visiting under a great pressure, as euro zone members hope that Merkel, who has a good relationship with China, can improve on its indifference and persuade its leaders to invest more of its foreign exchange reserves in EU nations. It seems that Merkel aims for China to bail out the euro zone.

Obviously, the European debt crisis is getting worse. On Jan. 26, International Monetary Fund forecasted that European economy may shrink by 0.5 percent in 2012 due to the crisis, and the global economy may fall in another recession. The negotiation between Greece and euro zone leadership and other members has reached an impasse. And proposals to protect Spain and Italy are also under great pressure. Meanwhile, China has become the second largest economy in the world and holds US$3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, it's reasonable for Merkel to pin her hope on China.

However, it's easier said than done. On Nov. 1, 2011, Cheng Siwei, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 9th and 10th National People's Congress, said China was not capable of bailing out the EU even if it wanted to. On the next day, President Hu Jintao said that it was mainly up to Europe to resolve the European debt problem during his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Cannes. "We believe that Europe has all the wisdom and capability to resolve the debt problem," Hu said. This is confirmation at the highest level of China's official stance toward this issue.

So far, however, nobody has come close to finding the crux of the problem. The euro crisis is not a simple debt crisis, but a trust crisis. The civil unrests it has stirred are superficial. To a deeper degree, people are losing confidence in their governments' financial and employment policies as well as the future of the European Union. Some have even begun doubting the purpose of the European integration. In Germany, anti-euro protests filled streets with protestors demanding the return of the Mark. Meanwhile, the Europe-U.S. bailout plan faced a referendum in Greece. Local surveys show that the public opposes cutting their welfares as a way to pay the debt. Therefore, the resolution of the debt crisis requires the promotion of a stable and healthy economic growth in all member states and the establishment of an integrated fiscal policy in the region. Unfortunately, the discussion on methods to stimulate economic growth by European leaders has been limited in a narrow scope.

The European debt crisis is yet another case of the collapse of excessive consumption. For many years, Westerners have believed in the liberal economy that created lots of bubbles. Now, many Europeans criticize the greedy bankers and corrupted officials, blaming them as major contributors to the crisis. Therefore, Europe should start its recovery by reforming its own economic policies and systems. As Premier Wen Jiabao pointed out at the 2011 Dalian World Economic Forum, the European Union has to first "put its house in order."

As a responsible partner, China will not stay on the sidelines when Europe is asking for help. The total China-EU trade volume reached US$522 billion in 2010 with China having a surplus of more than US$220 billion. China has become the second biggest exporter for the EU and the top importer of its goods and services. But for China to assist the EU, the two sides need mutual understanding and equal treatment. Empathy is the key. For example, China has become a member of the World Trade Organization for 10 years, but the EU has still neither recognized its market status to date nor abolished its arms embargo against China. It's difficult for the EU to win China's compassion when it is still holding onto the cold war mentality. Therefore, to enhance the ties, both sides should begin demonstrating a stronger spirit of unity in times of adversity and pursue win-win cooperation.

This post was first published in Chinese and translated by Li Shen.

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