The relationship between China and Europe is still undermined by a lack of trust between both sides, according to a leading figure in fostering Sino-European links who has been making efforts to bridge that gap.

David Gosset, founder of the Euro-China Forum, was speaking ahead of the forum's 9th edition that begins in Paris on Monday.

"The potential synergies between Europe and China are considerable; unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and a lack of trust - the two are interrelated - the cooperation between the two edges of Eurasia is relatively limited, growing rapidly but still limited," he says.

Gosset, also director of Academia Sinica Europaea at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, adds the gap between the two will only be bridged when the people of Europe and China better understand each other.

"Government leaders matter, of course; but, over the long term, public opinion will largely determine the nature of the Euro-China link."

The Euro-China Forum was set up to create a dialogue between politicians and academics as well as business and media figures from both China and Europe.

Speakers at this year's two-day forum at the UNESCO building include former French president Jacques Chirac, Romano Prodi, former president of the EU Commission and prime minister of Italy, and Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO.

Gosset says the forum now has a vital role in deepening links between the two sides.

"It is the oldest gathering of its kind. Once a year in a different European city, Chinese and European personalities meet in order to improve mutual understanding and to discuss issues of common interest," he says.

"One of the effects of this process is the existence of an open network of people who have decided to deepen links between Europe and China."

The first forum was held in Spain in 2002, shortly after China's accession to the World Trade Organization, and has since been held in eight different countries.

The last forum was held in Tianjin in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Gosset says the decision to hold this year's event in the UNESCO building demonstrates the aims of the forum are similar to those of the United Nations' body, which was set up in 1945 to promote educational, scientific and cultural ties between nations.

"The noble values of UNESCO are at the center of our project. The Euro-China Forum wants to contribute to the elaboration of economic, political but also intellectual and moral solidarity between Europeans and Chinese," he says.

The Paris forum, whose theme this year is "New Humanism in a Globalizing World", includes panel discussions on a wide range of subjects including global governance, the EU's relations with China and whether Central Asia will provide a new Silk Road from Europe to China.

Participants from China will include Lu Qiutian, former China ambassador to Germany and president of the Chinese People's Institute for Foreign Affairs, Shi Shuyun, China's ambassador at the UNESCO, and Xu Bo, former vice-commissioner of the Shanghai World Expo.

Gosset says it is very important for Europe and the rest of the world to understand China.

"There cannot be any new global endeavor which would ignore how China - one fifth of mankind - thinks, how the Chinese people look at the world and how China sees its position in the 21st Century world system."

China Daily