After 50 years of China-EU relations, green is the color of the future

The year 2025 marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union. China has grown to be the EU's second-largest trading partner and today the relationship is one of the most intricate in the world. 

Back in 1980 Germany imported $1.9 billion worth of goods from China. Over the next 20 years that grew exponentially. By 2023 bilateral trade between China and the whole of the European Union exceeded $770 billion. 

"The 50 years have been really important for China and the EU," said Liang Linlin, Director of Communication and Research at the Chinese Chamber Of Commerce to the EU. "What we can say from a business perspective, we've seen the importance of Europe has been constantly growing over the past decades and in particular over recent years."

Back in November, both Chinese and EU diplomats participated in a forum in Brussels, hosted by the Friends of Europe think tank, to mark the impending half-century of diplomatic ties. It was viewed as a chance to take stock and discuss challenges, including the transition to green and digital economies, sometimes called the dual transition.

"China and Europe are both facing the dual transition – that's actually also the direction of the world," Jin Ling, Director and Senior Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told CGTN at the event. "So we have to continue on the cooperative spirit to jump out of the so much focus on the geopolitical lens to start cooperating."

Trade tensions persist, but some panelists at the event urged both sides to engage in constructive competition. Despite the fallout over duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles, there's a hope that climate policy can be a source of cooperation.

"One of those areas is green management," said Angeline Sanzay, Policy Advisor at the Brussels-based think tank Third Generation Environmentalism. "We know that connectivity, green connectivity in China is one of the areas where it's a bit lacking and where cooperation would be more needed. Carbon pricing is of course one of the areas which has been quite fruitful over the past years."

While current relations face challenges, both sides have made strong commitments to a clean energy transition. After 50 years of cooperation, leaders say that green is the color of future EU-China collaboration.