What Are the Main Issues of Common Concern for China, Germany And France?
China has robust economic ties with the leading European powers. To learn more about the issues of common concern to China, Germany and France, Shane Bigham invited Adjunct Professor Ivo Ganchev (Beijing Union University) to join him on The Beijing Hour. You can listen to the full episode of the show from Sep 14, 2020 on the China Plus website and to the interview excerpt from the Listen section of this website. A full transcript of the excerpt is also available below.
Shane Bigham: What are the major issues of common concern involving China, Germany and France, and how can Foreign Minister Wang Yi coordinate China’s position on these issues with the two European powers.
Ivo Ganchev: I think that at the moment. Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron are looking for a stable, reliable partner that can help boosting the post pandemic recovery of their countries and the recovery of the EU as well. Right now they’re looking for a partner that is trustworthy that keeps their word because recently we’ve seen some disappointments by Germany and France with the way that the US has undermined its own promises to the international community so one thing that’s crucial for ye to do here is just building trust, and in the process it’s very important to be responsive to the concerns of European leaders. And I think the right formula for cooperation here is the mitigating any sort of more minor differences that there might be in the focusing on specific cooperation project, specific negotiations that fit the economic interests and the development trajectories of both sides. One sector that has tremendous potential in this regard is the green economy, climate change cooperation, but there are also other discussions like market access that needs to be had as well. And these types of thoughts can also help the investment agreements negotiations, because this visit is a great opportunity to lay the groundwork for the China us summit coming up in December. And hopefully we’ll see China in the coming, one step closer to finalizing during negotiations and building a path to faster post pandemic recovery and hopefully more open and more sustainable long term cooperation.
Shane Bigham: That was Adjunct Professor Ivo Ganchev with Beijing Union University, talking about China’s cooperation with France and Germany.
