China-EU cooperation more important than ever to boost global prosperity

The importance of EU-China cooperation is becoming more and more obvious, as the US’ unilateralism is writ large, EU expert Gerhard Stahl said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Stahl, a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and the Peking University HSBC Business School, said, “The increased importance of good EU-China relations for international peace and prosperity becomes obvious” in the context of the Trump administration’s challenge to high-profile multilateral agreements such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement.

The EU and China cooperated successfully in the fight against climate change, Stahl said, underlining that the two powers were “the driving forces” to hammer out “the firstever universal, legally binding global climate deal” in 2015.

He praised the two sides’ “important role” in striking the nuclear deal with Iran, saying, “for this agreement, good cooperation between Britain, France, Germany, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and China was essential.”

Stahl also noted Washington’s decision on Thursday to quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), saying the move, as well as withdrawal from international trade agreements, “is in opposition to the European and Chinese commitment to international trade and a multilateral international system.” Recent international accords have helped deepen cooperation between the EU and China, which have developed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” over 14 years with several results.

“There are a lot of regular expert and political meetings on all the topics covered by the partnership. These meetings improve understanding and help build confidence,” said Stahl, also a former secretary general of the European Committee of the Regions. As both sides have a sophisticated governance system, Stahl stressed the importance of “learning.”

“Over the years, many Chinese partners learned to understand the unique EU political system with European and national competence. But also, more and more Europeans understand the specific Chinese political system.”

Regarding the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, the professor said the EU wants to contribute to the success of the initiative. He noted that the EU and European countries have backed the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

“The importance of the AIIB can be also seen by the fact that the US is opposed to increase the lending capacities of the World Bank, making developing countries in Asia more dependent from support by the AIIB,” he said.

The EU hopes that the Belt and Road initiative will facilitate essential investment in Asia, Africa and Europe, he noted, underlining the significance of deepening cooperation between the two great powers.

“The deepening of EU-China cooperation can demonstrate that international trade, an open international economy, the free exchange of ideas and scientific results is beneficial for everybody; that a globalized economy can continue to be the driver for growth and prosperity in developing and developed countries,” Stahl said.