China-Europe partnership benefits all

Where the Silk Road and Amber Road meet

The idea proposed by President Xi Jinping in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2013 soon transformed into an institutional framework with different mechanisms and platforms connecting not only countries and their peoples along the ancient Silk Road but also the world economy at large. This fact is clear today in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in Poland, where the Silk Road and the Amber Road meet.

The most visible indicator of economic connectivity is the trade volume among the countries along the new Silk Road, which exceeded $3 trillion from 2014 to 2016. And China-Poland trade increased more than 20 percent to more than $20 billion in 2017 according to the Polish National Bureau of Statistics, making Poland among the top 10 trading partners of China in the European Union.

The EU and China are committed to strong partnership based on mutual trust and understanding built on years of collaboration. Which is not surprising as the EU-China trade volume is the second highest in the world, with the EU being China's most important trading partner and crucial source of foreign direct investment. On the other hand, China is the biggest market for the EU's goods and commercial services, and second-largest trading partner－after the United States.

Five years after Xi proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the world economy looks significantly different. China has become a major advocate of globalization and international connectivity, and the Belt and Road Initiative is playing a pivotal role in advancing global trade and exchanges.

The EU strongly upholds the principles of openness and liberalization despite the US' protectionist moves, as it believes deeper cooperation is crucial for all the parties involved－the EU, China and the world at large.

Stronger trade partnerships, a level playing field and more open markets will help strengthen mutual trust and confidence, and thus facilitate deeper win-win cooperation. As indicated by Chinese leaders many times, and underpinned by China's recent white paper on "China and the World Trade Organization", China is committed to fair, reasonable and binding international rules that promote equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit. On this, the EU, as well as Central and Eastern European countries cannot agree more－and they hope Sino-European relations become stronger, so it can better defend international rules and norms.