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Interview: China-EU summit opportunity to explore synergies between development plans: European scholar

Xinhua, June 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

The 17th China-EU leaders' meeting set for later this month in Brussels will be an opportunity for European and Chinese leaders to explore synergies between The European Union (EU)'s "Juncker Plan" and China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, a European expert has said.

"The summit presents an opportunity for the Chinese Premier to meet the new European leadership, namely European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and to jointly agree on the priorities for the EU-China Strategic Partnership for the upcoming years," Anna Katharina Stahl, research fellow at the EU-China Research Centre of the College of Europe, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Noting that the EU's and China's economic situation will remain high on the EU-China summit agenda, she said leaders at the summit are expected to discuss topics on boosting transport and infrastructure links between Europe and China.

She said that 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China. Over the past 40 years the EU and China have built a mature relationship, she said, describing the establishment of the EU-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership a "landmark" in bilateral ties. Together with adoption of the "EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation", it deepened cooperation between the EU and China in a wide range of areas.

"The EU and China share responsibility for addressing a variety of global challenges. In particular, European and Chinese leaders need to collaborate in the area of international development cooperation," said Stahl.

She said though the EU is considered as a so-called "traditional donor", China has increased its foreign aid to developing countries in Africa in recent years.

"As key players in the UN negotiations, the EU and China need to ensure a successful outcome to the post-2015 development agenda," she said, noting that in September, the UN will convene a high-level summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. Enditem