Hopes expressed for better ties with EU

Departing diplomat lauds progress but laments stalled investment pact

Zhang Ming, China's top diplomat to the European Union, has expressed hope that the EU will work with China to bring bilateral relations back to the track of cooperation.

In his farewell speech, Zhang, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU since October 2017, said he and his colleagues had done their best to promote the growth of a China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

"We've had the good days and the not-so-good days," he said in a video message issued on Saturday. "But at the end of the day, I'm relieved to see that China-EU cooperation has been making progress," said the 64-year-old veteran diplomat and a former vice-foreign minister.

In the farewell speech he did not elaborate on progress made, but celebrated the fact that China became the EU's largest trade partner for the first time last year, supplanting the United States.

Despite the pandemic, bilateral trade rose 4.9 percent last year to $457.2 billion. In the first 10 months of this year, bilateral trade was worth $670.4 billion, exceeding last year's total and representing an increase of 30 percent year-on-year.

"The progress and resilience of China-EU economic and trade ties are a clear and effective response to voices calling for 'decoupling' and pessimistic voices on China-EU cooperation," Zhang told a year-end dialogue on Dec 7 with Chinese and EU business leaders co-hosted by the EU-China Business Association and the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU.

He was pleased that the China-EU Agreement on Geographical Indications came into force in March this year, he said.

Last month China and the EU issued a document titled the Common Ground Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance, which provides guidance for green investment and financing collaboration and on helping tackle climate change.

Zhang said he was also pleased that China and the EU concluded talks on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment at the end of last year after 35 rounds of negotiations over seven years. It was "highly important in terms of market access and the level playing field for both companies", he said.

He was disappointed the agreement had been put on hold by the European Parliament after the EU imposed unilateral sanctions on China, he said, a decision that China said is based on lies and disinformation. China imposed counter-sanctions.

Causing concerns

Zhang said he is also worried that the EU has been bolstering its economic and trade toolbox, which he said has caused concerns among many people about the future direction of the EU. A survey by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU shows that the overall rating of its member companies on the EU's business climate fell for two consecutive years this year.

A key issue lies in how the EU views China and its development, Zhang said. In March 2019 the EU started to call China "a cooperation and negotiating partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival", a description China has rejected.

In his farewell speech, Zhang stressed that China has maintained a highly stable and positive EU policy since the two sides established diplomatic ties in 1975.

"Despite differences in systems, we sincerely believe that comprehensive strategic partnership remains our only appropriate positioning," he said.

"We hope friends from the European side may also stand by such perception, and work with China to bring bilateral relations back to the track of cooperation."

He hopes the two sides will work together to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, on global economic recovery and on fighting climate change, Zhang said.

He urged the two sides to properly manage their differences through communication, saying that it is only natural, given their different histories, cultures, social systems and development stages, sometimes to see things differently.

"The key is how to properly manage them. There is of course no magic formula, but communication and mutual respect are surely better than unilateral measures and forced will."

Before leaving Brussels over the weekend, Zhang paid farewell visits and calls to leaders of EU institutions, including European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission First Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, and European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.