China and the European Union (EU) have just wrapped up their latest round of summitry with a series of cooperation deals and a firm commitment to dovetailing their development strategies and further boosting bilateral win-win cooperation.[Special coverage]
Particularly, they expressed great interest in aligning the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), known as the Juncker Plan, with the international production capacity cooperation initiative championed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Amid global economic uncertainties, the alignment of the Juncker Plan, named after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and what can be called the Li Plan is expected to benefit not only the two large economies themselves but the global economic recovery.
DOCKING OF STRATEGIES
At the 17th China-EU leaders' meeting, held Monday in Brussels and co-chaired by Li, European Council President Donald Tusk and Juncker, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their strategic partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization.
Addressing the summit, Li suggested that Beijing and Brussels conjoin their development initiatives, such as the China-proposed "Belt and Road" and international production capacity cooperation and the EU's EFSI, and jointly seek cooperation with third parties.
At a China-EU business summit, Li once again expounded the necessity and significance of international production capacity cooperation, pointing out that such cooperation will not only boost South-North and South-South cooperation but promote the global economic recovery.
He proposed to combine China's comparative advantages in production capacity and equipment manufacturing with the advanced technology of European economies, and urged the two sides to join hands in exploring third-party markets.
It will couple China's well-established industrial system with the development needs of developing countries and the export needs of developed ones, and thus achieve all-win results, he explained.
Describing China as a strong and reliable partner of the EU, Juncker said at the business summit that the EU is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in infrastructure building and inter-connectivity, adding that it welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in Europe.
In a joint statement, the two sides also agreed to improve their infrastructure links and create a sound environment for sustainable cross-border infrastructure networks between China and the EU.
NEW PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION
As both China and Europe are facing the tasks of maintaining a steady economic growth and optimizing their economic structure, analysts say, the conjunction of their development strategies will galvanize the growth of both sides and usher in new opportunities for China-EU ties.
Jo Leinen, chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with China, said that in the Junker Plan there is a lot of space for direct and indirect participation of Chinese companies and capitals.
In the eyes of Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the alignment of the two sides' plans will combine their interests and help them achieve win-win cooperation and form a community of interests.
China-EU relations, added Zhao, have entered a period of in-depth development, which requires both sides to enrich the content of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership through major cooperation projects.
This not only helps enhance practical cooperation between China and Europe, but also can chart the course of the development of the China-EU relationship, he added.
