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EU and China's mutual interests mean they must keep talking: analyst
CGTN
05:20

China and the European Union (EU) need to deepen their dialogue in areas such as economic co-operation, defeating COVID-19 and helping the people of Afghanistan, analyst Shada Islam told CGTN.

Islam was reacting to the outcomes of a phone call between China's president Xi Jinping and Charles Michel, who represents EU national leaders. The two men discussed climate change, trade and other matters including Afghanistan during their discussion on Friday.

There have been significant points of contention between Brussels and Beijing in recent months.

"The truth is that this relationship is in a very difficult stage," Islam said in an interview from Brussels.

"So as long as these dialogs, these conversations, telephone exchanges and hopefully person to person meetings take place, I think we can keep this conversation on track because the economic cooperation and the economic relationship between the European Union and China are so, so important."

Trade between the EU and China amounted to more than $500bn in the year up to August, a 32 percent increase on the previous year as appetite from consumers rebounded.

China's President Xi made it clear that, Europe and China should engage as equal partners, Islam said, pushing for cooperation around global connectivity initiatives such as the Belt and Road and the EU's Global Gateway plan.

Islam gave Afghanistan as an example of how the EU and China could produce win-win situations if they could work over differences in other areas. The country is facing a crisis following the instability that surrounded the Taliban's arrival in power.

"Is it going to be about competing between China and the EU? " Islam asked, "Or can they work together to make sure that there isn't this humanitarian crisis or this famine and hunger and food shortages that people are fearing?"

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