Four figures look at China-EU economic and trade cooperation: mutual benefit and win-win

(Economic Observation) Four figures look at China-EU economic and trade cooperation: mutual benefit and win-win benefit to the world

China news agency, Beijing, April 8 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) The 21st China-EU Leaders' Meeting is about to be held. A group of data released by the Ministry of Commerce on the 8th shows that China-EU economic and trade cooperation has achieved fruitful results in recent years, and has become a "ballast stone" and "propeller" for bilateral relations.

Data map: Luxembourg has reached the Central European train in the international railway port. China News Service, International Railway Port

- an average of over one million dollars in trade per minute

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the EU has been the largest trading partner of China for 15 consecutive years. China is the EU's second largest trading partner, and the two sides are the largest import source and the second largest export market. In 2018, bilateral trade in bilateral goods reached US$ 682.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%. At present, the average trade volume per minute between China and Europe is more than one million US dollars. The trade volume per two days is equivalent to the trade volume of one year when the two sides establish diplomatic relations.

In addition to the expansion of the total volume, the trade structure between China and the EU is also increasingly optimized. China's export product structure to the EU is extending from traditional labor-intensive products to high-tech products. It has also become a major buyer of general machinery, office equipment and computers, communication equipment, electronic equipment, ships and luxury goods in the European Union.

Analysts believe that under the background of global trade resistance, it is not easy for China-EU bilateral trade to maintain rapid growth. Cui Hongjian, director of the European Institute of China Institute of International Studies, said that China and the EU should jointly safeguard the free and open world economic system and jointly create a cooperative and inclusive exchange atmosphere.

-- The EU has invested more than US$130 billion in China

In recent years, China-EU two-way investment has continued to grow. According to Chinese statistics, in the downturn of global cross-border direct investment in 2018, China’s direct investment in the EU was US$8.11 billion, up 7.1% year-on-year; the EU’s investment in China was US$10.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%. As of the end of February 2019, the EU had accumulated more than 47,000 investment projects in China, with an actual investment of 132.2 billion US dollars.

However, compared with the multi-billion dollar bilateral trade volume between China and Europe, the two-way investment between China and the EU is obviously small, and its potential remains to be realized.

As a powerful measure to expand two-way investment, China and the EU are currently actively promoting investment agreement negotiations. The spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce said that the early conclusion of the agreement is the common aspiration of both China and the EU. I hope that the two sides can further increase investment in negotiations and strive to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with the China News Agency that if the China-Europe investment agreement can be reached as soon as possible, it will bring significant benefits to the promotion of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the release of two-way investment potential.

- The total amount of technology contracts introduced from the EU exceeds 200 billion US dollars

The EU has been China's largest supplier of technology and equipment. According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce, as of February 2019, the total amount of China's technology import contracts from Europe was 216.76 billion US dollars, and the number of projects was 56,482. In major projects such as Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, Shanghai Maglev Train, Volkswagen, and Tianjin Airbus, there are large multinational companies in the EU.

- More than 20 European countries responded to participate in the “Belt and Road”

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, more than 20 European countries have responded and participated in the “Belt and Road” construction. Following Italy, Luxembourg has also signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the “One Belt, One Road” cooperation.

According to Chinese statistics, as of the end of 2018, China-Europe trains have already launched nearly 13,000 banks. Through this international logistics network, China's auto parts, electronic equipment, textiles and clothing are continuously exported to 49 cities in 15 European countries. European wine, oats and other products are also sent to the Chinese consumers' table. The Ministry of Commerce said that China and Europe Unicom's channels are increasingly rich, which not only promotes regional economic and trade exchanges, but also brings new opportunities for world economic growth.

Chen Fengying, former director of the Institute of World Economics of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the strengthening of cooperation between China and the EU on the construction of the “Belt and Road” will further extend the construction of the “Belt and Road” beyond bilateral relations and truly become a bridge for the common development of the two regions of Asia and Europe. . (Finish)