General

On May 5th, Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei stated at the press conference of the China Europe Reform Office that the potential for future trade cooperation between China and Europe is enormous, and practical cooperation will be deepened in areas such as digital, green, and new energy.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Europe.  

Under the leadership of the head of state's diplomacy, China Europe trade and economic cooperation has achieved results. At present, China and Europe are each other's second largest trading partners, and the trade volume between China and Europe has reached a historic high. Last year, the trade volume between China and the European Union reached $847.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%, which means that the average trade volume between China and Europe exceeds $1.6 million per minute. The trade of green products such as lithium batteries, new energy vehicles, and photovoltaic modules is growing rapidly.

As of the end of last year, the stock of two-way trade investment between China and Europe had exceeded 230 billion US dollars. In 2022, European investment in China reached 12.1 billion US dollars, a significant increase of 70%, and the automotive industry continued to become the largest investment hotspot. During the same period, China's investment in Europe reached 11.1 billion US dollars, an increase of 21%, with new investments concentrated in areas such as new energy, automobiles, and mechanical equipment.

In addition, both sides have completed the second batch of list publicity of the China Europe Geographical Indication Agreement, and added 350 mutual recognition and mutual protection of landmark products. China and Europe have taken the lead in formulating and updating the "Common Classification Catalogue of Sustainable Finance", and China Construction Bank and Deutsche Bank have successively issued green bonds. Recently, multiple European company executives have come to China to personally promote cooperation projects with China, and the enthusiasm for cooperation between enterprises has been high.

Li Fei said that the Chinese side is willing to work with the European side to jointly implement a series of important consensus reached by the leaders of both sides, strengthen complementary advantages, and share the development opportunities brought by Chinese path to modernization. In the next stage, both sides will deepen practical cooperation in fields such as digital, green, and new energy, jointly maintain a rule-based and WTO centered multilateral trading system, maintain the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and work together to contribute to world economic growth.