China-Europe cooperation enhances world multipolarization, global solutions, say celebrities-Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits Schneider Electric’s Innovation Center in Paris, France, June 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

Leading experts and entrepreneurs from Europe said that deepening mutual trust and cooperation between China and Europe will help promote global multipolarization and global solutions to pressing challenges and crises.

BERLIN, June 30 (Xinhua) — Leading experts and entrepreneurs from Europe said deepening mutual trust and cooperation between China and Europe will help promote world multipolarization and global solutions to pressing challenges and crises.

They agreed that such multi-level cooperation in jointly tackling global issues between China and European Union (EU) countries promotes the building of a multipolar world.

As Chinese Premier Li Qiang concluded his first trip abroad since taking office last week, his visits to Germany and France drew a variety of positive responses from industry, institutions and political groups.

With Li’s visit, there are again direct government consultations between Germany and China, said Sevim Dagdelen, leader of the Die Linke parliamentary group in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz co-chair the seventh China-Germany intergovernmental consultation on June 20, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Li co-chaired the seventh China-Germany intergovernmental consultation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit, calling the consultation efficient, pragmatic and fruitful.

Dagdelen described the Chinese Prime Minister’s visit as “a sign of hope” and stressed the need for stronger political and economic cooperation between Germany and China, as well as deeper cooperation in the fields of science and culture. She added that the collaboration will bring hundreds of thousands of job opportunities in Germany.

Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW AG, said the BMW Group has close and long-standing relationships with its Chinese partners. Citing their shared pursuit of e-mobility, reusable batteries and smart vehicles, the CEO said the strong partnership will enable the companies to maintain a win-win situation while the automotive industry undergoes massive transformation.

Li’s visits to companies in Germany highlighted the “enormous potential” for cooperation between the two countries, especially when Germany is hit by deindustrialization, said Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and chair of German think tank Schiller Institute.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang visits the Siemens headquarters in Bavaria. During his official visit to Germany, Li visited the Free State of Bavaria on June 20-21. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

“China accounts for half of the global chemical market and is a strategic market and growth driver for BASF,” said Jeffrey Lou, President of Greater China and CEO of BASF, a German multinational chemicals company. He also expressed BASF’s willingness to work on chemical industry transformation and sustainable development in China, in areas such as battery materials, automobile, renewable energy and agriculture.

Ludovic Weber, Asia-Pacific CEO of French multinational Saint-Gobain, told Xinhua that the Chinese market is growing very quickly and there are many ongoing investments, particularly in the electric vehicle industry.

Noting that China’s transition does indeed benefit Saint-Gobain and other foreign companies, Weber said it was in nobody’s interest if tensions rose. “Decoupling is kind of impossible,” he said, expressing his expectations of strengthening the connection between countries through infrastructure, businesses and mutual investments.

China and France have a tradition of diplomacy based on dialogue and resolving conflicts through political solutions, said Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Paris Franco-Chinese Friendship Association.

Future problems facing humanity would be global and diverse, he said, adding that France and China should continue to work together to address challenges such as climate change and support economic development in Africa and emerging economies.■