China and Europe: time for a second 'honeymoon'?

Frequent visits by leaders from both sides are another telling illustration of the close rapport.

In 2013, heads of states and governments from Europe, including former French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Britain's Cameron visited China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li, meanwhile, also paid visits to countries in Europe in March and this month, signaling growing political trust with the continent.

But there have been signs of a "seven-year itch". A Chinese policy paper issued in April admitted that "the two sides have disagreements and frictions on issues of value such as human rights as well as economic and trade issues."

Trade is perhaps the strongest area between the two sides, but it is also home to their main disputes. The EU's year-long anti-dumping case on Chinese photovoltaic power systems threatened to turn into a potential trade war, before the two sides managed to reach agreement.

Perhaps a second "honeymoon" is not round the corner after all. But disagreements do not render relations fruitless.

On the contrary, ties are without doubt heading in the right direction, according to Cui Hongjian, director of European studies at the Foreign Ministry think tank, the China Institute of International Relations.

"One thing is for sure, Sino-European relations have witnessed solid and comprehensive development in the past few years," Cui said, adding that no other regions have exerted as much influence on China as Europe.

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