Thank you for welcoming us again to this magnificent city and this great country. It is my third time in Beijing as President of the European Commission and my first time in my second term. But this one is special. As you said, we mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union. In these 50 years, cooperation has grown in depth and scale. And both Europe and China have changed immensely. We, Europeans, have created the European Union and a Single Market of around 450 million people. China has become a manufacturing and technological powerhouse, and 800 million people have risen out of poverty. It is a transformation that has impressed and inspired the world. Today, Europe and China are two of the world's three largest economic and trading powers. And our relationship is one of the most important and consequential in the world.
In fact, in terms of total trade, the EU is China's largest trading partner and China is the EU's third. Our bilateral trade in goods now exceeds EUR 2 billion per day. Europe has supported China's economic development for decades and continues to do so. But as our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances. We have reached an inflection point. Rebalancing our bilateral relation is essential. Because to be sustainable, the relations need to be mutually beneficial. To achieve this, it is vital for China and Europe to acknowledge our respective concerns and come forward with real solutions.
On the crucial topic of climate change and environmental protection, we have a positive agenda. We share strong commitments to the Paris Agreement and its full implementation, and we will work towards a success at COP30 together in Belém.
President Xi,
The next 50 years of our relations are still to be written. It is an opportunity to rebalance our relations for the people of China and for the people of Europe. Thank you very much for hosting us again. I look forward to our discussions.
