Your Excellency, Vice minister Hua Chunying, welcome to the European Union Delegation to China.

Let me also welcome Charles Michel, former president of the European Council, who is visiting China these days and who, among other things, led the resumption of in-person meetings between European Union and Chinese leaders after a long period of pandemic restrictions.

Dear colleagues and friends, friends of Europe, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us here today to celebrate a very special Europe Day reception.

As you know, we usually celebrate Europe Day on the 9^th of May, to commemorate the Schuman Declaration, which is unanimously recognised as having launched the European integration process. Three days from today we will celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. But this year we are holding the Europe Day reception in Beijing on the 6th of May, to mark another important milestone, the 50th anniversary of EU-China relations. Today, we also start a season of events to commemorate it.

Exactly 50 years ago, the first engagement at political level between China and the European Community, which was later to become the European Union, took place. Sir Christopher Soames, at that time the Commission Vice-President, visited China from 4 to 10 May 1975. During this visit, on 6 May, he and Premier Zhou Enlai agreed to establish diplomatic relations between the European Community and the People’s Republic of China. 

This commemoration naturally leads us to look back to our common achievements of five decades; but it is also an opportunity to examine together the current challenges and, also together, prepare the ground and lay the foundations for another 50 years.

So, how can we describe what has happened in the last five decades? What are the current challenges? How can we ensure a stable, fruitful, mutually beneficial relation for decades to come?

Over the past 50 years, both the European Union and China have undergone profound transformations. The then European Economic Community enlarged from 9 Members states to 27 now. Along with the successive enlargements, we evolved into a deeply integrated European Union, that is today, the world’s largest trading bloc and single market. But even more importantly, it is a bastion of peace, fundamental freedoms, democracy, rule of law, and prosperity.

On the other hand, China has experienced in these five decades the fastest sustained economic growth in history. Hundreds of millions of people have risen out of poverty. Today, China is an industrial economic powerhouse and a major global actor. 

Alongside these extraordinary changes, our relationship has matured into one of the most important and multifaceted bilateral relations in the world. 

But the rapid growth of our exchanges, while establishing some solid links and cooperation mechanisms, have also created imbalances, some of which are at risk of becoming unsustainable. 

And I am referring especially to the trade and economic imbalance that has grown to be one of the largest in the world. 

We need to address what we strongly feel is a lack of level playing field for our companies and exporters in the Chinese market. If we want our relation to continue prospering, we need to do that with determination, especially now, to prevent that barriers be erected between us, when the world seems to be fragmenting.

As Presidents Costa and von der Leyen said in their congratulatory messages to President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, “A balanced relationship, built on fairness and reciprocity, is in our common interest. We need to find joint solutions to shared challenges and to deepen our engagement and cooperation in the interest of regional and global security, prosperity and sustainable development.”

At 75 years old, the European Union continues to be strongly committed to peace, partnership, universal human rights, international cooperation and a global order based on international law with the UN at its core. 

European integration has delivered the longest period of peace and prosperity in history for its Member States. This achievement was, and continues to be, gravelly challenged since Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. I have said it before and I will say it again: the EU will stand with Ukraine – whatever it takes and for how long it takes.

Europe is a peace project, but peace without defence is an illusion. This is why in the face of this aggression, the most serious and criminal challenge to peace in Europe since World War II, the European Union is stepping up its security and defence capabilities. This is not just a government effort—it is a society-wide mission.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The next 50 years are unlikely to resemble the past. The two sides need to take this anniversary as an opportunity to rebalance the relationship. The structured dialogues we are going to have in the next few months and the EU-China Summit must be used to achieve real progress that could lay a firm foundation for a strong and mutually beneficial relation in the future. 

In the current geopolitical context, the EU and China bear an even more significant responsibility to tackle global challenges. And this refers especially to the most brilliant part of the partnership facet of our relations: “Green is the colour of our cooperation”, Premier Li Qiang told President von der Leyen in one of their meetings in 2023. Let us also build on this excellent EU-China cooperation in the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity and the environment, to tackle other global challenges that we face. 

As President von der Leyen pointed out, the EU will strive for constructive engagement and mutual benefits in our dialogue with China. As the saying goes, no man is an island. The responsibility to further enhance EU-China relations rests with us – with us alone, and irrespective of other global actors’ actions. 

The EU is ready to put in the necessary effort; we hope China will do the same.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before closing, let me thank you all, Vice Minister Hua, friends and colleagues, for being here today to help us to commemorate not only Europe Day but also the 50^th anniversary of EU – China relations. We look forward to the next 50 years of fruitful and constructive cooperation. 

Let me also warmly thank our sponsors: the European Investment Bank, The European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Foreign Spirits producers Association, DP Group – a wine making family, Budweiser China, Pernod Ricard China, BMW, MOVEON coffee shop and Beijing Vandergeeten, as well as the volunteers from the EU Spouses Circle for helping us organise the reception today. 

I would also like to thank all EU Member States’ embassies for their cultural booths. Special thanks as well for the Embassies of Bulgaria, Croatia Czechia and Italy for sponsoring the stage performance today. 

I would therefore wish to propose a toast, and hope that today all our guests will be able to enjoy the diversity of our culture, music, and food.