Xi Jinping to break ice and have free trade deal with Europe with 2 pandas
31 March 2014 4:49 AM IST
As the first Chinese leader to visit the European Union’s headquarters since Brussels established ties with Beijing four decades ago, Xi will also seek to send a message that China is a less confrontational partner, ready to resolve trade disputes. ‘Our common interests far outweigh our differences,’ said China’s ambassador to the EU, Yang Yanyi. ‘We need to explore ways to deepen our partnership.’
Xi will say hello to China’s two ursine envoys Xing Hui and Hao Hao, loaned to Belgium last month, at a wildlife park near Brussels - part of a Chinese tradition of using pandas to foster better relations around the world. Chinese officials hope the ‘panda diplomacy’ will strike a different tone from a year ago, when the EU and China narrowly avoided a trade war, and help Xi tackle difficult issues ranging from human rights to the West’s tug of war over Ukraine.
At the top of Xi’s list is pushing the European Union to consider a multi-billion-dollar free-trade deal, a step that would dramatically deepen ties between two of the world’s largest markets. Europe is China’s most important trading partner. For the EU, China is second only to the United States but the bilateral relationship has been bedevilled by a series of damaging trade rows ranging from steel and wine to solar panels.
‘We should look at the broader picture. It will eventually benefit not only China but Europe,’ Yang said. British Prime Minister David Cameron told officials in China in December he was a strong advocate of such a free-trade deal. But most of Europe is wary.
Xi will say hello to China’s two ursine envoys Xing Hui and Hao Hao, loaned to Belgium last month, at a wildlife park near Brussels - part of a Chinese tradition of using pandas to foster better relations around the world. Chinese officials hope the ‘panda diplomacy’ will strike a different tone from a year ago, when the EU and China narrowly avoided a trade war, and help Xi tackle difficult issues ranging from human rights to the West’s tug of war over Ukraine.
At the top of Xi’s list is pushing the European Union to consider a multi-billion-dollar free-trade deal, a step that would dramatically deepen ties between two of the world’s largest markets. Europe is China’s most important trading partner. For the EU, China is second only to the United States but the bilateral relationship has been bedevilled by a series of damaging trade rows ranging from steel and wine to solar panels.
‘We should look at the broader picture. It will eventually benefit not only China but Europe,’ Yang said. British Prime Minister David Cameron told officials in China in December he was a strong advocate of such a free-trade deal. But most of Europe is wary.
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