made in mutual understanding between China and the EU, and what expansion will
be achieved in economic cooperation between China and the EU!
(III) China-EU political relations will become more pragmaticBoth China and the EU are in the midst of transformation; they will be subject to
many new challenges in the next ten years; for example, misunderstandings will
occur between China and the EU due to lack of connections among many mech-
anisms during the transformation, while in terms of world affairs, China, the largest
developing country, may have attitudes and roles different from those of the EU, the
largest group of developed countries in the world; differences and contradictions in
their attitudes towards values as well as the degree of trust between China and the
EU will persist, etc. However, China and the EU have no fundamental strategic
conflicts and they share strategic interests for common development; thus both sides
are expected to build on the cooperation amidst China-EU political relations in the
past decade to jointly develop a crisis management mechanism, jointly safeguard
marine navigation safety, timely coordinate positions on international affairs, and
provide strategic support and guarantee for an increasingly active China-EU rela-
tionship of cooperation in the economic, trade, social and culturalfields. As both
China and the EU are forces dedicated to peaceful development in the world they
should both also jointly maintain the basic norms governing international ethics,
oppose acts which wantonly trample on international laws and international con-
ventions, and express legitimate positions against hegemony in the times of net-
work media.
(IV) China enters into more extensive, deeper, comprehensive and balanced
relations with EU member statesThe roles of the EU member states cannot be ignored in the development of
China-EU relations. EU member states have their own interests, history and culture.
All of the EU member states hope to be understood and respected; with comparative
advantages, all of the EU member states hope to develop further. The case in which
China can carry out economic and trade activities according to the different char-
acteristics of the EU member states on the condition of adapting to the rules of the
EU also constitutes an important factor for boosting the sustained growth of
China-EU economic and trade relations. Failure to foster good relationships with
EU member states will empty the China-EU Strategic Partnership. However, some
people from the EU mistakenly consider China’s policy for establishing relation-
ships with China-EU member states according to the institutional characteristics of
the EU as a“separation of Europe”. In fact, various generations of Chinese lead-
ership have been emphasizing support for European integration for a long time,
admiring efforts and great achievements made by national states in realizing per-
manent peace in Europe, appreciating the EU for its important and active roles on
many international occasions and concerning many global issues, encouraging and
supporting the EU in overcoming the European debt crisis; meanwhile, China has
also engaged in international cooperation with the EU and its member states at
28 H. Zhou