Photo/ China Daily

As part of the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China, the Delegation of the European Union to China and the EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), with the support of Consulates General of EU Member States in Guangzhou and the participation of Member State embassies in Beijing, organized a special event for European and Chinese business community members to celebrate Europe Day on May 21.

The guests of honour for this event are H.E. Dr. Hans Dietmar SCHWEISGUT, Ambassador of the European Union to China, as well as Ambassadors to China and Consuls General in Guangzhou representing the following EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

In addition to this event, the EU envoys also held a series of meetings with local government, including Mr Zhu Xiaodan, Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Ren Xuefeng, Party Secretary of Guangzhou and Mr Chen Jianhua, Mayor of Guangzhou, as well as representatives of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province. EU Ambassador Schweisgut also delivered a lecture at Sun Yat-sen University followed by a panel discussion with other ambassadors from Estonia, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Romania as well as a Q&A with students.

The EU envoys spoke highly of the past 40 years of EU-China relations, which have been a success story, generating significant benefits for both sides and making the EU and China deeply interdependent.

The EU side said, on the economic front, the EU and China could benefit significantly from the successful conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive, ambitious bilateral investment agreement which would offer investment protection and greater market access to both EU and Chinese companies in each others markets and contribute positively to job creation and economic growth.

EU technology, know-how, services and investment can positively contribute to China's efforts to achieve innovative, balanced, sustainable and socially-inclusive growth—and to become a successful high-income economy. There is huge opportunity for sharing the EU’s experience through the EU-China Sustainable Urbanization Partnership and for further developing connectivity between Europe and Asia, which will bring benefit to both sides.

Another area where the EU and China must work together more is in the environment and climate change. A successful outcome to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year would send a strong signal to the entire world. This will be an important step on the path to a cleaner, greener, low-carbon future.