Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese mission to the European Union: Let the list of regrets become shorter and shorter, and eventually transform into a list of hopes and achievements

On December 9, the website of the Chinese Mission to the European Union reported that on December 7, Ambassador Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, was invited to attend the 2021 China-EU Entrepreneurs' 2021 End-of-Year Dialogue co-sponsored by the EU-China Business Association and the EU-China Chamber of Commerce by video and delivered a keynote speech. Hakmar, Chairman of the EU-China Trade Association, Xu Haifeng, President of the EU-China Chamber of Commerce, and more than 100 representatives of Chinese and European enterprises attended the meeting online.

Ambassador Zhang Ming pointed out in his keynote speech that with the joint efforts of the Chinese and European business circles, China-EU economic and trade cooperation will grow strongly against the trend in 2021 and become a warm current in the global cold wave. The achievements of China-EU economic and trade exchanges and the resilience they have shown come from the institutional guarantee of further integration between China and the EU in the field of rules, and also benefit from the solid support of the two major markets of China and the EU. In the new era, China will continue to expand high-level opening up and share development opportunities with the world. China hopes and welcomes European enterprises to continue to actively participate in the development of the Chinese market, share China's development opportunities, and achieve greater gains through in-depth cultivation of the Chinese market.

Chairman Haqma said that despite the impact of the epidemic, the profitability of nearly half of the European companies in China in 2020 still increased significantly. Looking forward to the future, China's economy will maintain stable growth, and the market prospects will become broader and broader. European enterprises will continue to take root in China and promote the development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Xu Haifeng said that the performance of Chinese enterprises in the EU will steadily improve in 2021, and the Chinese business community is full of confidence in the future of China-EU cooperation and is willing to make positive contributions to promoting the dual transformation of green and digital in the EU.

The full text of Ambassador Zhang Ming's speech is as follows:

Dear Chairman Haqma, President Xu Hai summit, and representatives of Chinese and European entrepreneurs:

Hello everyone!

It is a pleasure to attend the EU-China Entrepreneurs' Year-end Dialogue again. In 2021, the epidemic is still continuing, and the recovery of the world economy is weak, but the Business Community in China and Europe is remarkable! Your efforts have made China-EU economic and trade cooperation grow strongly against the trend and become a warm current in the global cold wave. From January to October this year, the trade volume between China and the EU reached 670.4 billion US dollars, which has exceeded the total trade volume of last year, an increase of 30% year-on-year. The achievements of China-EU economic and trade exchanges and the resilience they have shown are undoubtedly a powerful response to the rhetoric of advocating "decoupling" and singing the praises of China-EU cooperation.

Behind the achievements, there are institutional guarantees provided by China and the EU in the field of further integration in the field of rules. At the end of last year, after 7 years and 35 rounds of negotiations, the two sides finally reached a comprehensive, balanced and high-level China-EU investment agreement, which is a major event related to the market access and fair playing environment of enterprises of both sides. In March this year, the Eu-China Geographical Indications Agreement came into force, and a unified high-level protection system allowed ordinary people on both sides to enjoy Yantai apples, Parma ham, Lixian hemp yam, Bavarian beer... Last month, China and the EU released the Report on the Common Classification of Sustainable Finance, which provides guidance for green investment and financing cooperation with actions to help cope with climate change.

Behind the resilience, there is a solid support brought by the two major markets in China and Europe. As the world's largest market, China's 1.4 billion people yearn for a better life, of which the middle-income consumer group has exceeded 400 million, and there is still a huge consumption growth space of 1 billion people. China has insisted on expanding opening up and revised the negative list for foreign investment access for four consecutive years, reducing the number of items on the list from 93 to 33. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping announced that China will also open up medical, telecommunications and other industries in an orderly manner. Judging from the data, the profits and turnover of EU companies in China will reach a new high in 2020, and 60% of enterprises hope to continue to expand investment in China. China has become the most important market for many companies in the world. The prosperity and opening up of the European market is also a living water for China's economic development, attracting a number of Chinese enterprises to come here. In the final analysis, China and the EU are each other's development opportunities, mutual market demand, and deep integration with each other. The cooperation between the two sides will effectively promote the recovery of the global economy.

In 2021, China-EU relations have also experienced twists and turns. In March this year, the European Union imposed unilateral sanctions on China based on lies and disinformation, which had an impact on bilateral relations. The Eu-China investment pact, which had been painstakingly negotiated for a long time, was shelved by the European Parliament. I have also noticed that in recent years, the EU has continuously strengthened and expanded a series of economic and trade toolboxes, which has made many business people worry about the future direction of the EU. According to the survey of the EU-China Chamber of Commerce, the overall score of the EU business environment of the member enterprises of the Chamber of Commerce in 2021 fell for the second consecutive year.

Recently, many people have asked me what I think of the future trend of China-EU relations. I think it depends more on how the European side views China's development and The developing China. Since March 2019, the EU has proposed a "triple positioning" of relations with China, which has seriously impacted and interfered with the development of bilateral relations. From the very beginning, China has clearly opposed the "triple positioning". After 3 years, you can look back and see what this "triple positioning" has brought to the European side itself? What has it brought to EU-China relations? And what does it bring to our world? China has always maintained that China and the EU are partners rather than rivals, and that each other is an opportunity rather than a challenge. Cooperation is the right way, confrontation has no winners. China has always adhered to mutual respect, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and achieving benefit sharing by making the cake bigger. As the world's two major forces, two major markets, two major civilizations, China and the EU shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining world peace and stability and promoting common development and prosperity, and the common interests of the two sides are far greater than the differences.

It is gratifying that some people in the European side have taken note of the current situation of China-EU relations. We have heard comments that the China-EU Investment Agreement has been artificially "overloaded" and that China and the EU should "re-engage" in the field of trade. Not long ago, I read an article by a friend of the European Parliament who said that economic nationalism and isolationism that set standards are harmful to all participants in the international arena. The average daily trade volume between China and the EU of more than 1 billion euros fully demonstrates that the interests of China and the EU are interdependent and closely intertwined. As mature major country relations, China and the EU have had a set of effective practices in managing differences in the past few decades, and the key is to adhere to the correct mutual understanding, adhere to the main tone of dialogue and cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results, and jointly shape a healthy, stable and future-oriented bilateral relationship.

After experiencing the storms of the epidemic in the past two years, we have deeply appreciated the significance of the community with a shared future for mankind more deeply than ever before, and have also deeply realized the importance of adhering to openness and cooperation, multilateralism, dialogue and consultation. We must "hold hands" instead of "loosening hands", "tear down walls and bridges" instead of "building walls and destroying bridges", jointly safeguard and adhere to the core values and basic principles of the multilateral trading system, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, improve the rules of global economic governance, and promote the construction of an open world economy.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the beginning of China's 14th Five-Year Plan and the beginning of a new journey to comprehensively build a modern socialist country. Not long ago, the Communist Party of China held the Sixth Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee to review the course of struggle over the past century and sum up major historical experiences. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization. China's continuous expansion of opening up has promoted its own development and brought opportunities to the world economy. Openness has become a distinctive symbol of contemporary China. In the new era, China's determination to expand high-level opening up will not change, its determination to share development opportunities with the world will not change, and its determination to promote economic globalization in the direction of more openness, inclusiveness, inclusiveness, balance and win-win results will not change. We hope and welcome European enterprises to participate in China's development, share China's opportunities, and achieve greater gains by cultivating the Chinese market.

Dear entrepreneurs,

Time flies, and the white colt passes through the gap. 2021 is drawing to a close. My mission in Brussels is also nearing completion. Over the past four years or so, I have had the privilege of experiencing many historic events in China-EU relations. In the economic and trade field, I have witnessed China becoming the EU's largest trading partner, witnessed the signing of an investment agreement between China and the EU, and witnessed the rise of China-EU cooperation in the face of the epidemic crisis, showing strong resilience and vitality. I have had the privilege of meeting many friends in the business community, the European-Chinese Trade Association, the EU-China Chamber of Commerce, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, BUSINESS EUROPE, etc. have repeatedly talked to me about their wishes, plans, difficulties, suggestions, and even criticisms and complaints, and I have always tried my best to help them realize their plans and overcome difficulties, and to transform their suggestions or criticisms into policies and measures for China's central and local governments to expand opening up and optimize the business environment, of course, I often ask them to have a little more patience and confidence. I've worked as a worker, and I've seen familiar workshops and busy workers at the Volvo factory in Bruges, and of course their level of automation is much higher. I have worked as a farmer, seen scenes of hard work and life in the homes of farmers in Walloon, and learned how much they want to sell their cheese, beef and grain to the distant Chinese market. In Zeebrugge, I saw Volvo car parts and finished cars transported back and forth via China-Europe trains. At the headquarters of BEKAERT, I am in awe of the company's innovative excellence and dedication and tolerance to China. At the Belgian Center for Microelectronics Research (IMEC), I learned that they were among the best in terms of cooperation projects with Chinese customers. The famous Dutch ASML told me with regret that the collaborative projects they aspired to complete were artificially snuffed out. In the south of France, I am excited about the international nuclear fusion science project jointly participated by China, the European Union and other eight parties, and such cooperation and cooperation spirit will make the human homeland cleaner and better!

Of course, my list of regrets is also long. There is no end in sight to the epidemic; the China-EU investment treaty is still frozen; the idea of taking a look at the Croatian Peljesac Cross-Sea Bridge built by Chinese companies has not been fulfilled; the goal of the number of Chinese tourists to Europe to rise to the next level has also been stranded due to the epidemic, and so on.

In any case, the fundamentals of the development of China-EU economic and trade cooperation while complementing each other's advantages will not change, and the general direction of progress in healthy competition will not change. I sincerely hope that China and the EU will seek common ground while reserving differences, expand consensus, and work together to enhance the well-being of the people of both sides and jointly promote world prosperity and stability. I also ask all my friends to work together to make my list of regrets shorter and shorter, and eventually transform into a list of hopes and results. I wish that China-EU economic and trade relations will be stable and far-reaching in the downside of the EU-China Trade Association and the EU-China Chamber of Commerce.

I wish you all a safe, happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Thank you!