Beijing and Brussels should map out a blueprint for the integration of trade, investment

The Europeans and Chinese tend to commemorate historic events every decade and 2015 will not be short of such occasions. Beijing has been engaged in inviting other nations to mark the 70th anniversary of victory against fascism and Japanese aggression.

On May 6, 1975 - or 30 years after this victory - China entered into a diplomatic relationship with the European Economic Community, mainly consisting of Western European powers that already had a diplomatic relationship.

In a few days, Beijing and Brussels will celebrate their 40th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relationship.

Both sides have ample reason to mark this alliance and note the lessons learned during the previous four decades.

Take trade volume: It has soared from $2.4 billion (2.6 billion euros) in 1975 to $615 billion in 2014. Both Beijing and Brussels have the ambition of hitting $1 trillion in trade volume by 2020.

This tight economic interdependence means China and the European Union cannot afford to ignore the contributions they have made to the other's economy. Chinese President Xi Jinping's historic message of knitting closer ties, delivered this time last year, has illustrated this. That the majority of the European Union's 28 member states applied to become founding members of the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank is proof.

Meanwhile, Brussels is sounding out the possibility of Beijing participating in a three-year plan to channel 315 billion euros into Europe to invigorate the continent's sluggish economy. Beijing is seeking European responses toward its proposals of economic corridors along the Silk Road.

From a strategic viewpoint, both sides want mutual recognition for their development strategies. Some businesses, with bottom-up and market-oriented approaches, have started to take action.

However, it is critical for Beijing and Brussels to sit down and map out a blueprint for the integration of trade, investment and infrastructure cooperation in the coming years to match their ambitions.

Currently, both sides are busy with negotiations and the removal of trade barriers and are not focusing too much energy and time on specific projects and cooperation mechanisms.

As both sides celebrate the 40th anniversary of their relationship, they should aim to leave more legacies when Brussels and Beijing mark their bonding of 50 years 10 years later. Of course, if they could aim for a target further into the future, that would be a blessing.

Apart from the current model, one novel idea is that Brussels and Beijing should consider tightening up pairing partnerships between the EU's 28 member states and China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

Gan Lin, vice-governor of Sichuan province, paid a three-day visit to Belgium. Tasked with the responsibility of seeking cooperation to carry out the Silk Road plans of his province, Gan said it would be tremendous if Belgium, with a population of 10 million, could tap into the potential of his province, which has a population of more than 81 million.

Sichuan is famous for brewing alcohol and it also has a large consumer base. Belgium is good at making beer and it could be beneficial for the country if Belgian beer were advertised and marketed in Sichuan.

Sichuan also represents a big market for Belgium's agricultural technologies.

To successfully tap into each other's potential, China's provinces and EU member countries need to be paired up after carefully examining their strengths and weaknesses.

Greece, trapped in economic and fiscal difficulties for years, has longed to make its capital Athens like Hong Kong, a global shipping and financial center. Athens has such geopolitical assets. So why not pair Hong Kong with Athens?

Switzerland is not a member of the EU but as a small economic and tourism powerhouse with worldwide fame, it is an excellent example for Guizhou province, a landlocked but stunningly beautiful place. The latter has set up a goal to follow the example of Switzerland. In terms of tourism, environmental protection and agriculture, Guizhou has the potential to pair up with Switzerland. It is worthwhile for the Chinese government to look into this.

Many Chinese cities and European cities have set up partnerships. However, they have so far only been symbolic.

To speed up the connection between China and the EU in the coming decade, the pairing mechanism presents one possible solution.

The author is China Daily chief correspondent in Brussels. Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 04/24/2015 page13)