Sino-Europe bond might be beneficial to globalization, experts say

The relationship between China and Europe may play a key part in promoting globalization, said Wang Huiyao, president of Center for China and Globalization.

The US President Donald Trump has brought back isolationism and says he aims to put America first. Last month, he also decided to pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. These changes add challenges to the current trend of globalization.

Wang, however, said the China-Europe bond may become a factor to strengthen globalization.

"In terms of globalization, with China's participation as a huge support, I feel that the results of the upcoming G20 submit in Hamburg will be better than the G7 meeting," he predicted. "Especially when Germany and France also stand on the same side on globalization."

Philippe Le Corre, fellow at The Brookings Institution, also thought there could be two groups at G20: isolationism and multinational corporatism, "China and Europe will be under the second".

In recent years, interactions between China and Europe have increased. Since 2011, thousands of trains from China Railway Express have connected 28 cities in China with 29 cities in 11 European countries, carrying goods ranging from agricultural materials to manufactured products.

"China is becoming involved with Europe as part of a multi-polar international system. The EU and China have special needs. There is no security rivalry between China and the EU," Corre said at a previous panel.

But there still exist some challenges for China and Europe in pushing their relationship forward.

"All European countries have a trade deficit. China has proposed a free-trade agreement, but the EU is more interested in having a bilateral investment treaty," Corre said. "One way or another, something will happen because China and Europe need each other."