Former Slovenian President urges EU to adopt more collaborative approach with China

Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk has called for renewed efforts to strengthen ties between the European Union (EU) and China, emphasizing the need for a more collaborative approach to address the multifaceted nature of their cooperation, in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Turk pointed to the European Commission's decision in October to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles as a turning point in EU-China relations, describing it as an overreaction to the rapid rise of China's electric vehicle industry.

"I think the European Union was caught by surprise. They didn't expect such rapid and high-quality development of production of electric vehicles in China. Of course, the production was in the process for some time now, but the effects are rather dramatic, the quality of vehicles, the availability of vehicles, the affordability of vehicles has been such that European manufacturers were all surprised. And European institutions are taking the kind of automatic response that is (to impose) higher tariffs. That's not a good approach. I am very doubtful about this approach by the European Union. I think the European Union is sometimes taking too much of a protectionist stance. That is not going to be particularly helpful, either to the European Union or any of the European Union's partners," he said.

Describing the EU's move as "an overly protectionist stance," Turk urged deeper dialogue and collaboration between the two sides, citing China's increasing importance in many sectors.

"So, in the European Union, we really need a further discussion on 'all right, how do we want to work with China,' because China has become so important and so effective in many ways that we have to define our cooperative arrangements in an adequate way. We have to figure out how to bring the European Union and China closely into a comprehensive process of improvement," he said.

Turk was a guest speaker at the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Global Leaders Conference in Shanghai in mid-October, where he granted the exclusive interview to CGTN.

The ESG Global Leaders Conference, the industry's largest annual summit to its fourth edition this year, was attended by over 800 guests, including international organizations' heads and industry leaders, as well as environmental experts consisting of Nobel Prize winners, scholars and professionals.

Former Slovenian President urges EU to adopt more collaborative approach with China

Nauru's President David Adeang returned to his ancestral home in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province this week, not only to honor family heritage but also to explore renewable energy collaboration and deepen people-to-people ties between the Pacific island nation and China.

He arrived in the province on Sunday for a five-day homecoming visit, marking his second trip to the southern Chinese city in just seven months.

Adeang and his family were welcomed back to Jiangmen as they traced their roots. His great-grandfather's ancestral home stands in the ancient town of Chikan, where more than a century ago his forefathers left for Southeast Asia in search of a livelihood before eventually settling in Nauru.

"I feel like I'm not a stranger anymore, I feel like family. Bilateral relationships can be strengthened through people-to-people exchanges and who better to promote that than the president of my country. That's me," Adeang said.

In a heartfelt ceremony on Wednesday, the president joined local villagers in a traditional ancestral worship ritual, receiving blessings and symbolic gifts from a community elder. Together, they wrote Spring Festival couplets, made rice cakes, shared a warm reunion meal, and distributed red envelopes.

Just a day before this emotional reunion, the president visited a solar panel factory in Jiangmen to explore ways to make full use of Nauru's abundant sunlight.

"The technology is of course world class. And I feel like we are wasting the sunlight that we have in Nauru, but maybe we can, through cooperation with the government, we can develop a project that will take us to 100-percent renewable," Adeang said.

The president also met Jiangmen native Ma Enduo, founder and chairman of Amos, one of China's major candy producers. Struck by an instant bond, Ma pledged to send an entire container of sweets to the people of Nauru.

Adeang thanked Ma for his generous gift to the people of Nauru, highlighting the bond he felt with his ancestral hometown.

"And he is from Jiangmen, my hometown. We are brothers," he said.

Adeang also stressed that the visit bridged heritage and future, adding a sweet note to the deepening Nauru-China ties.

Nauru's president returns to China, strengthening cultural, trade ties