In France, Xi's second stop, the two countries signed 50 economic and trade agreements worth a total of 18 billion euros, or 153.978 billion RMB. This will lead to greater employment, economic expansion and general prosperity in both countries.

Economic cooperation between China and Germany, President Xi's third stop, is on an even larger scale. The two countries have been important trade partners with two-way trade amounting to US$161.13 billion in 2012.

On March 28, the central banks of China and Germany signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish an RMB clearing and settlement mechanism in Frankfurt, an important step to turning Frankfurt into an offshore RMB center. That will open up a bright future for financial exchanges between China and Germany.

On his last leg of his maiden tour of Europe, President Xi arrived in Brussels. China and Belgium agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive friendly cooperative partnership. The two sides signed cooperation agreements covering economics and trade, science and technology.

The linchpin of Xi's Europe tour is, to be sure, stronger ties with the EU. In their 20-point joint statement, the two sides confirmed that Xi's visit was a landmark in EU-China relations; stressed their determination to strengthen the global dimension of their cooperation; and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization.

Those four things constitute the most important aspects of international life.

President Xi's tour strengthened his rapport with European leaders. Even though they did not agree on every point, the Chinese president wrote in Belgium's daily Le Soir that "Rocks cannot interrupt the course of a river in its tumultuous voyage to the ocean. I am convinced that no problem or difference can snarl the march of Sino-European friendship and cooperation."

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/zhaojinglun.htm

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