Europe looks forward to new era

Peter Ho, chair professor of Chinese economy and development at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, says due to the entwining of China's economy with the rest of the world, the US in particular, its economic influence through its global investments, the internationalization of the renminbi and the rise of its domestic market can only be expected to grow in the long term.

"With that economic rise, will come a political, social and cultural rise in influence as well."

Ho says there are numerous, almost daily cases on China's weibo, or micro-blog, and other Web accounts, where instances of corruption and social inequity are signaled and almost instantaneously go viral.

"From these cases we can clearly see that China is going through a fundamental normative change. As such, the change in governance style is also imperative for China's long-term and stable development," Ho says.

"The other side of this story is that we should never forget that socio-economic and political changes take a long time to take effect, and China will be no exception."

Ho says China will always walk a tight rope in this regard. "It needs to change, it needs to answer to calls for change, but it also needs to change in accordance with the possibilities determined by time and place."

Rana Mitter, professor of history and politics of modern China, Institute for Chinese Studies, University of Oxford, says China's growth will continue but at a slower pace. It will be immensely important to implement convincing social welfare policies to stabilize society as it becomes more urbanized, as well as create more transparency in government.

"The newly stated intentions of China's leadership are good to hear," Mitter says. "However, observers will be waiting to see how life changes on the ground. It will be important to demonstrate real changes in the ways that the bureaucracy deals with the wider population."

Mitter says that China needs to understand its role as a rising power in the region and deal with the concerns that some of its neighbors feel. "Sometimes it is important to restrain power to gain greater influence. This will be an important lesson that China can learn from and, in turn, teach others."

Van Rompuy says: "I appreciate President Xi Jinping's knowledge about the EU and his clear support for enhancing the EU-China Strategic Partnership."

Premier Li shares the view that China and Europe are closely interconnected and that cooperation is essential to promote growth and jobs, he says.

"As China continues to develop and emerge as an economic power, its political role assumes an even more important significance in today's world," Van Rompuy says, adding that the EU has always supported China's transition toward being an active and responsible global player.

Economic imbalances, climate change, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, food security - just to name a few - are global challenges that require coordinated global cooperation. "China has a key role to play in the international community in addressing them. Increased power goes hand in hand with increased responsibility," Van Rompuy says.

Hugo Swire, minister of state at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, says Britain is committed to boosting its prosperity through trade and investment, and China will clearly be a crucial part. "China is changing at a rapid pace. Opportunity will grow as the economy rebalances," Swire says.

He expresses confidence that luxury products, cars, advanced machinery and educational services, which Britain excels in, will meet the demands of China's expanding middle class.