An opinion article published in People’s Daily asks that European leaders consider offering China what China needs in exchange for economic help from China. The article states, "Immediately after the Chinese New Year, European leaders started visiting China one after the other. The first was German Chancellor Merkel, then Herman Van Rompuy, President of the Council of the European Union. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission will follow. The speculation is that the suitcases they bring will contain long lists of requests for China’s help."
The article suggests that "European leaders coming to China should not simply ask for China’s help; they should also think more about what China needs, what Europe can offer China, and what can they do for the long-term stability and development of Sino-European relations. As compared to Europe’s request for ‘economic’ help from China, China hopes to gain political respect from Europe. Even now, Europe still maintains an arms embargo on China and is not willing to admit China’s position as a market economy. On the one hand, the E.U. welcomes China to increase its investments in Europe. On the other hand, it also follows the media to politicize China’s investments. The ‘China economic threat’ theory is quite popular within the E.U. There are still many obstacles keeping Chinese enterprises from investing in Europe."
In closing, the author asks, "After all, what image does the E.U. want to have among the Chinese people? We hope European leaders will think again and give a wise answer with far-reaching impact."
Source: People’s Daily, February, 2, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/14549/16999697.html