Experts from several European think tanks have shared their hopes for productive dialogue at the upcoming 25th China-EU Summit, which is set to be held in Beijing.
Expectations are high that the summit will help to strengthen cooperation and communication between China and the EU.
"I can only hope that the people participating in the summit from the European side would recognize the incredible potential which lies in the full-fledged cooperation with China and not give in to the pressure coming especially from the Anglosphere, the United States and the Great Britain, to 'de-risk'. That would be very much in the disadvantage of Europe," said Helga Zepp-Larouche, president and founder of Germany's Schiller Institute.
"I think it's so important that we talk, that the Europeans talk with the Chinese because we have to learn from each other. We have to understand from each other. And more or less, we have to develop new ideas, new strategies. I would like to give an advice to the European government -- they have to learn more about China, they have to listen more about China," said Bernd Einmeier, an expert from ThinkTank Networks.
The summit is also expected to offer solutions to some long-standing issues and remove barriers for people-to-people exchange, said the experts.
"We should conduct these dialogues also to achieve long-term goals. Since the 2020 summit, the European Union-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment was agreed on and signed, but it wasn't ratified by the European Parliament. So, it's a homework for the European Union to go on in the ratification process by the European Parliament, to convince the members of European Parliament that is in the interest of European consumers to get affordable, high-quality Chinese products," said Zoltan Kiszelly, director of the Center of Political Analyses at Hungary's Szazadveg Foundation.
"The shock of a continuous stress on the academic system worldwide under the tariff system has not been fully absorbed. There might be measures that each side takes to hedge its own macro-economy and then fine-tuning those two measures across China and across the EU might be useful," said Joel Ruet, president of The Bridge Tank in France.
"My expectation for this summit is that our leaders can have full awareness about the importance of people's encounters, overcoming the geopolitical constraints also through this people-to-people platform and approach," said Fabio Massimo Parenti, a member of Eurispes - Institute for Political, Economic and Social Studies in Italy.
The China-EU Summit, first held in 1998, is a vital platform for dialogue between two of the world's largest economies.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU.
European think tanks expecting more cooperation outcomes from 25th China-EU Summit
The upcoming trip of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to China for talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is being viewed positively by the South American nation's business community.
At the invitation of the Chinese president, Noboa will pay a state visit to China from August 16 to 23, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday. The Ecuadorian leader will be accompanied by government officials and business representatives from various industries.
Bilateral trade between Ecuador and China has surpassed 11 billion U.S. dollars. Several Ecuadorian products could see their phytosanitary protocols approved, including blueberries, avocados, milk, and proteins such as pork and chicken.
Rodrigo Gomez de la Torre, president of the Ecuadorian Business Committee, said the potential opening of new phytosanitary protocols is among the key expectations for the visit.
"We have a market of 1.4 billion people. We can increase dragon fruit exports, we could enter with broccoli, with canned goods, with heart of palm, with more cocoa and differentiated cocoa products. The question here is what opportunities we want to pursue in the Chinese market, obviously understanding the scale of that market," Gomez said.
Shrimp accounts for 75 percent of Ecuador's exports to China, making it critical to the economy as the sector generates more than 8 billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange.
Ecuador's shrimp industry is seeking the lifting of restrictions on 14 exporting companies over sodium metabisulfite levels, hoping to establish a technical working group between Chinese customs and Ecuadorian health authorities to resolve the issue.
"I believe the technical working groups will be the outcome of the highest-level meetings, President Noboa's visit, because as a chamber we have relayed this to both the Ministry of Production and Foreign Affairs, given that the trade relationship between Ecuador and China is important for our country," said Jose Antonio Camposano, president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture.
The president of the Ecuador-Shanghai China Chamber of Commerce, Dario Regalado, underscored the importance of the visit for securing financing on favorable terms and promoting new investments in sectors such as mining.
"The results of the free trade agreement are already visible, and many of these exports are tied to direct or indirect investment by Chinese companies. There are two newly confirmed mining projects assigned to Chinese firms that are looking to develop their own power generation. There are opportunities to secure credit through the Bank of China and Eximbank, which is important on favorable terms, long-term, and not linked to oil. I think it is timely to maintain the relationship with China, to keep trade open. Maintaining a healthy relationship with China is also very relevant, because that opens up opportunities for other products in our trade balance to reach China," he said.
Ecuador's banana export sector views the presidential visit to China as a positive step toward strengthening trade relations, framed within the friendship between the two peoples. In the case of bananas, exports to the Asian country began under the Free Trade Agreement with a 10 percent tariff.
"Today it stands at 7 percent, and we hope that once we reach zero, we can double our position in China. Right now it represents 4 percent of what we are exporting. And with the boost from this presidential visit, we hope to position ourselves better each year. Obviously, we aspire to grow as much as we want to grow once we reach zero under that negotiation," said Jose Antonio Hidalgo, executive president of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador.
Ecuadorian business community anticipates President Noboa's visit to China
