2025 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU). Over five decades, the China-EU ties have grown into one of the most significant bilateral partnerships globally.
Data from various fields showed that the sound, stable China- EU ties could enrich each other.
Complementary Economy and Trade
In the economic and trade fields, the cooperation between China and the EU has brought tangible benefits to both.
As each other’s major trading partner, China and the EU have formed strong economic interdependence over the past 50 years. As each other’s major trading partner.
According to the latest official data, China’s imports and exports to the EU amounted to 2.82 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%, with an average daily import and export of over 15 billion yuan. The EU accounted for 12.9% of China’s total foreign trade value, firmly ranking as the second largest trading partner.
China-Europe Railway Express has become a strong link for China- EU economic cooperation. As of June this year, it has completed 110,000 trips, becoming a vital corridor linking Asia and Europe. The service reaches 229 cities across 26 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian nations , carrying goods worth over 450 billion US dollars.
Growing Clean Energy Partnership
Amid growing global environmental challenges, China and the EU are stepping up cooperation in sustainable development and green transition.
For instance, CATL, a leading Chinese green energy solution provider, has launched gigafactory projects in Germany, Hungary and Spain to support the region’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem.
Meanwhile, European businesses also focus on the green sector in Chinese market. Earlier this year, German industrial giant Siemens opened its first industrial ecosystem hub in western China. Danish energy firm Danfoss also launched its first carbon-neutral factory in Nanjing.
In 2024, China and the EU have agreed on a roadmap, EU-China Roadmap on Circular Economy, to strengthen cooperation on the circular economy. It focuses on cooperation in plastics, batteries and remanufacturing.
Deepening People-to-people Bonds
People-to-people exchange is always important to China-EU ties. Good relations between the EU and China and exchange of peoples promote better relations and improve understanding between the two sides.
In order to attract foreign tourists traveling to China, it has introduced a series of traveler-friendly policies. China has launched a unilateral visa free policy covering 24 EU member states, and extended the stay time to 30 days.
In 2024, there were nearly 10 million two-way trips between China and Europe, with nearly 600 flights per week.
China and the EU have closely cooperated in the areas of education. In 2024, China has launched an initiative to increase the number of French students studying in China to over 10,000 and double the scale of European youth exchanges within the next three years.
Written by Sha Liu, poster edited by Di Wang, additional reporting by Xinhua, China Daily and Ecns.cn.
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