Stabilizer amid uncertainties

Strengthening Sino-European ties can act as counterbalance to instability in US-China ties 

The contrast between Sino-US tensions and the intensity of the Sino-European dialogue is striking and revealing. The European Union and China might have different approaches on some issues. However, they maintain intense exchanges with the double objective of reaching consensus and deepening cooperation.

The worsening of Sino-US relations that preceded the novel coronavirus outbreak has reached a dangerous level in the year of the US presidential election. One of the most regrettable effects of the decoupling being mooted by the US administration is it would reduce people-to-people exchanges. Since mistrust and decoupling would nourish each other, it would be a vicious circle that would only increase the likelihood of conflict.

The stability of Sino-European relations offers a counterbalance to the uncertainties in Sino-US ties. In the present circumstances, the Sino-European dialogue has three highly significant effects.

First, it invalidates the paradigm of a new Cold War for the coming years. If the EU and China manage to work together, it means that the idea of inevitable Sino-Western antagonism is a construct of the mindset of some rather than an inevitability.

Second, the Sino-European dialogue introduces predictability in a world beset by uncertainties. The more chaotic the general context, the more destructive the vicious circle of mistrust and decoupling would be.

Third, it paves the way for a return to normality in US-China relations. It was a European Statesman, Charles de Gaulle, who showed Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon the way to Beijing in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 21st century, a cohesive and autonomous Europe can also be the vanguard on the path toward new Sino-Western synergies.

Europe and China converge on the fundamental issues of our time. At the two edges of the Eurasian mega-continent, they both recognize the reality of a multipolar world. They are both committed to the multilateral system that Bretton Woods established at the end of World War II, and also to the necessity of patiently reforming it through consultation. They both consider climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability issues of vital importance. They do not limit their efforts to the defense of their core interests. They also regard the progress of mankind as one of their raison d'êtres.

Europe can better understand the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind that Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed, since, to a certain extent, it is reminiscent of its own integration process.

Solidly anchored around these four pillars of convergence, the EU-China relationship has been withstanding the pandemic and it will be able to withstand the US pressure aimed at severing it. In this context, Europe and China need to proactively project their relationship into the future by responding to the suggestion of decoupling with a strengthened commitment to engagement.

The coming EU-China Summit offers an ideal platform for the two sides to reinforce their engagement with greater engagement through cross-investments, trade, sharing economic and technological development across the continents, preservation of the environment, support of multilateral mechanisms, and efforts to design a more effective global governance framework for the 21st century, Europe and China would substitute the potential for a vicious circle of mistrust and decoupling with the actuality of a virtuous circle of trust and collaboration.

Such a substitution would not only be beneficial for the people of Europe and China, but would also serve the progress of mankind.

The author is a sinologist and founder of the Europe-China Forum. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.