EU has enough incentive to strengthen ties

Before the start of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, some European politicians, such as Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, told me that one typical strength of the Party leadership was its long-term vision of governance.

This is exactly what was reflected in General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at the opening of the 19th National Congress on Oct 18. And one of the headlines in the Western media, "Xi Jinping's 2050 vision: A China that Stands Tall in the World", best describes the power of that governance message.

To give practical shape to that vision, Xi, as the core of the Party leadership, has proposed a two-step approach to develop China into a great modern socialist country after building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way by 2020. From 2020 to 2035, China will make sure socialist modernization is basically realized, and in the next 15 years, it will strive to become a great modern socialist country that is "prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful".