German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are going to visit China one after another this and next week. Their visits come right after Chinese President Xi Jinping's fruitful visit to the UK that will probably herald a "golden era" for both countries. The intense interaction between China and major European countries has triggered speculation that Germany and France are competing with the UK for closer cooperation with China.

China shouldn't indulge in a superiority complex that major European countries are vying for its attention. Sino-European relations are more than the amity displayed in these intensive visits. Compared with the German and French leaders' receptions of the Dalai Lama, despite China's protests in 2007 and 2008, things have changed dramatically - China now has the initiative in Sino-European relations. It is more than coincidence that three major European heads of state have met with China's top leader within a month.

The US media never ceases wringing their hands or blaming Europe for giving up their "principles." The Americans' wrath stems from their jealousy over Europe's bigger determination to engage in an amicable relationship with China. But China should note that US-Europe relations are far from as bad as we think, and the so-called rivalry among the UK, Germany and France for China's favor is not as reliable as we expect. Uncertainties between China and the Western world still invariably exist.

China needs to respectfully and separately treat the UK, France and Germany as equally important. The "rivalry" among the three nations shouldn't concern China much.

The UK, France and Germany have their own particular traits that merit China's attention. For example, Germany accounts for 40 percent of overall EU exports to China. A stable business relationship between China and Germany has ensured the stability of Sino-European relations. Besides, France, as the first Western country that recognized China after 1949, has offered a lot of experience to China's development through these decades.

China should try to seek a more beneficial interactive system with the three European countries trying to establish high-quality cooperation with China in a progressive manner. The system could offset the restraints imposed by the US-Japan alliance on China.

Europe plays a vital role in Western civilization. Although the Europeans are more conservative than Americans, Sino-European relations have witnessed a holistic development driven by robust economic ties. Economic cooperation and the overflow of benefits could be the key to resolving many peripheral problems.