National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

A stable China 'is good for Europe'

By Wang Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-29 09:46

TIANJIN: A healthy China is good for Europe, a former German chancellor said on Tuesday.

"A stable and successful China in terms of politics, culture, economy and civil society is in line with the interest of European countries China and European countries need mutual respect and a stronger mutual bond of trust," Gerhard Schroeder told the 8th Euro-China Forum in Tianjin on Tuesday.

Schroeder said that the deepening understanding between European countries and China should be further strengthened, and that European countries should meet China on an equal footing, instead of with confrontation or sanctions.

China's huge and promising home market is highly attractive for European companies. In return, China is in desperate need of technologies for energy efficiency and environmental protection.

Related readings:  Spain 'keen to push forward Sino-EU relationship'  Climate change: EU, China have work to do  EU aims for 15% growth in food exports to China  China-EU media should strike fairer balance

China should get more involved in the international community, and exert more influence in the global economic and political arenas.

The current economic crisis cannot be solved by one or two nations. Instead, all major powers should join hands to ride out the tough times together, said Laurent Fabius, former prime minister of France.

"The ongoing financial crisis does not stand alone. It is accompanied by many other hard nuts concerning environmental protection, the fight against poverty and the fight against weapon proliferation. All these issues cannot be tackled by one or two single nations, but need joint efforts," Fabius added.

A rising China is an equal partner with European countries, which are undergoing the process of integration, said Lu Qiutian, former Chinese ambassador to Germany.