Stable Sino-EU ties benefit all

The 15th EU-China Summit in Brussels is an opportunity to review the problems confronting Sino-EU relations, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. Excerpts:

Despite great progress for the past 15 years, China and the EU still need to build their mutual trust. The European side has not yet discarded its deep-rooted prejudice of China and suspicion of China's fast development.

Without mutual trust, it is very difficult for both sides to explore their potential for broadening and deepening cooperation. It also benefits both to solve disputes through dialogue and negotiations.

In fact, the past 15 years' development of Sino-EU ties have seen one crisis after another, such as the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the Iraq War crisis in 2003, and the global financial crisis in 2008. The leaders' meeting mechanism has played an important role in helping both sides overcome these difficulties and develop Sino-EU relations to today's level.

In the new economic and financial circumstances, the EU should reflect seriously on the rationality of its stereotype concept of China. European countries and China are in different development stage. Both sides should make good use of this interrelationship while respecting each other’s culture.

Maintaining stable and healthy cooperation and constructive communications between China and the EU is in line with the interests of both peoples and contributes to world peace and stability.