Western Europe opens door when opportunity knocks

With most of the Western European countries following the United Kingdom's lead and ignoring Washington's heavy handed attempts to dissuade them from signing up for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, it is clear they are willing to accept proposals from China aimed at realizing Chinese President Xi Jinping's calls for the world to form a community of shared destiny.

The latest indication of this came from France. Laurent Fabius, who served as prime minister between 1984 and 86 and has been foreign minister since May 2012, gave an eloquent speech at a forum on China's "Belt and Road Initiative" on Friday, which was organized by the French Regional Council of Haute-Normandy.

As foreign minister, he said, he has just wrapped up his 10th tour to China and this frequency, higher than his number of visits to the United States, shows the importance his country attaches to China.