New opportunities

At a virtual meeting on Monday, Chinese and EU leaders affirmed their commitment to speeding up the negotiations of the China-EU Bilateral Investment Treaty to achieve the goal of concluding the negotiations within this year.

They also announced the official signing of the China-EU agreement on geographical indications, and decided to establish a China-EU High Level Environment and Climate Dialogue and a China-EU High Level Digital Cooperation Dialogue, and to forge China-EU green and digital partnerships.

Zhou from the CCCEU said leaders of the EU and China have sent clear messages that the two sides should unswervingly promote a sound and stable development of their comprehensive strategic partnership, and adhere to peaceful coexistence, openness, cooperation, multilateralism, as well as dialogue and consultation.

"Especially in times of global protectionism, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we need a positive signal for international trade," Thilo Brodtmann, executive director of German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, said in a statement commenting on Monday's meeting.

Meanwhile, some European experts have seen "green growth" as a sustainable way out of the coronavirus crisis and hope to expand and deepen cooperation on green solutions with China.

Finn Mortensen, CEO of State of Green, a Copenhagen-based environmental consulting firm, believed 2020 will mark an important milestone in Denmark-China collaborations.

"We have had very strong cooperation over the years, and now in particular in 2020 we will be focusing further on green solutions, the green transition and sustainable issues in general," Mortensen said.