EU should help build more bridges with China

A careful reading of the joint statement of Premier Li Keqiang and European Union leaders during their June summit will give an idea of the great mission European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen will carry when he flies to Beijing to chair the EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue.

Perhaps the most important job Katainen's colleagues and Chinese Vice-Premier Ma Kai, who will attend the dialogue in Beijing on Sept 28, are supposed to complete is the synergizing Brussels' 315-billion investment plan for Europe and China's Belt and Road Initiative. This means that two years after President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the world's largest union of advanced economies has accepted the principle of shared prosperity and development.

Of course, most of the 28 EU members have already endorsed China's proposal, and countries like Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia and some other Asian states have implemented measures to boost infrastructure development and people-to-people exchanges.