Recently released data showed that China and the European Union (EU) have been important economic and trade partners to each other over the past 50 years, with fruitful results achieved in various areas of cooperation.
The development of China-EU economic and trade ties remained stable in 2024, with total goods trade reaching 785.8 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 0.4 percent year on year, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
China was the third largest market for EU exports and the largest source for EU imports.
In terms of investment cooperation, two-way investment flows between the two sides have continued to grow.
Chinese investments into the EU have reached the highest value in the last five years, with a cumulated value of 185 billion euros.
Meanwhile, EU investments in China have remained stable, with a cumulative value of 184 billion euros, according to the European Commission.
It is worth noting that the investment structure of the two sides has extended from traditional manufacturing to high-tech fields, and emerging areas such as new energy vehicles, digital economy and green technology have become new highlights of cooperation.
In the field of automobile manufacturing, BMW Group has invested a total of more than 83 billion yuan (about 11.57 billion U.S. dollars) in northeast China's Shenyang City to build its largest production base.
In the field of new energy, photovoltaic and hydrogen energy projects jointly built by Chinese and European companies have been put into operation.
In the chemical industry, German chemical giant BASF has invested 10 billion euros in the construction of a large-scale composite material plant in Zhanjiang City of south China's Guangdong Province, which is the largest single project invested by a German company in China.
In transportation, the number of China-Europe Railway Express services have exceeded 100,000 cumulatively, becoming a golden channel connecting Asia and Europe.
With the combined economic output of China and Europe exceeding one third of the world's total, China-EU cooperation has taken on greater strategic significance and global influence.
Data show that sound, stable China- EU economic, trade ties enrich each other
The Chinese Embassy in South Africa on Monday held an event in Pretoria, the country's administrative capital, to celebrate the launch of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries.
Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng said that over the past seven decades, under the joint guidance of leaders from both sides, China-Africa people-to-people and cultural exchanges have continued to expand, yielding fruitful outcomes.
Noting that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Wu said China and Africa need to uphold fairness and justice, strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance, and enhance exchanges and cooperation more than ever before.
Taking the launch of the China-Africa Year of People-to-people Exchanges as an opportunity, Wu called for upholding the original aspiration of friendship, solidifying the foundation of cooperation, enhancing two-way efforts, and accelerating the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, South Africa's deputy minister of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, said South Africa and China enjoy strong and historic bonds of friendship as close international cooperation partners in the political, economic, social, technical and multilateral domains.
"The significance of people-to-people is really about how we elevate the people's life to a just and equitable stance that we want to see. We want a better Africa; we want a better world. And that for us is significant," said Letsike.
"Through people-to-people exchanges, we promote mutual understanding, and that is the basis of building mutual trust, building peaceful coexistence. People-to-people exchange is a very important instrument for peace and mutual understanding," said Bongani Maimele, director of international relations with South Africa's National School of Government.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges was held at the African Union headquarters on Jan 8. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two sides will jointly host nearly 600 cultural and people-to-people exchange activities in 2026 to enhance exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations, and promote mutual understanding and connection between the peoples.
Organizing the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges is an important consensus reached by leaders from both sides at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit in 2024.
Chinese Embassy in South Africa unveils 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges
