Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Europe is of great significance for the two sides to reestablish trust and restore a rules-based international order amid global challenges, said a former German ambassador.
Wang is on a week-long visit to Europe from June 30 to July 6, which will include visiting the EU Headquarters and holding the 13th round of China-EU High-level Strategic Dialogue, visiting Germany and holding the eighth round of China-Germany Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy and Security, and visiting France for talks with the French Foreign Minister and the meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges.
Sharing his insights on Wang's trip to Europe, Michael Schaefer, former German Ambassador to China and chairman of the BMW Foundation, emphasized that the visit takes place at a crucial point in time for the relationship.
"I think it's a very important visit. Over the last few years, a lot of trust has been lost. The Europeans are much more critical of China today, and that's why I think it is extremely important for a politician like Wang Yi to conduct his talks in Brussels, Paris, Berlin with a view of re-establishing trust and to reset a partnership which has been quite successful over the years," said the former envoy.
Observing China's rise and Europe's evolving stance on that rise over the last decades, Schaefer said China and Europe are now seeking common ground while setting aside differences.
"I think we must understand the geopolitical framework has changed dramatically. For the first 40 years of relations between Europe and China, our relationship was based on sound economic cooperation. We must not forget that the background of this phase was a rules-based international order. We both profited from the WTO -- the World Trade Organization -- more than any other country in the world. We are moving into an age of conflict and war if we are not capable of restoring a rule-based international order on the basis of the existing one, because we need this consensus -- how to, so to say, realign our interests, despite sometimes different values," he said.
In the ambassador's view, the necessary institutions to rebuild trust and move forward are already in place, but leaders must act to make use of them.
"I think it's not the lack of structures. It's the lack of the political will to really use these structures to listen to each other, to understand where the other side comes from, what the key interests are, how we can, so to say, bring values into tune, because values are part of our interests. And it is more the readiness to deploy the political will to listen and work in partnership with the other side," Schaefer said.
Chinese FM's visit crucial for reestablishing trust between China, Europe: former ambassador
