Vital for EU to make China part of Eurasian plan

Almost five years after President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the European Union is trying to convince its 28 member states that boosting connectivity across Eurasia continent is crucial for their economies. The EU is expected to announce its strategy on connecting Asia and Europe at the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels in October.

In a world fraught with the dangerous trends of isolationism, extremism and populism, any effort, even intention, to improve connectivity should be treasured as a public good. While the EU is still giving final shape to the text of the strategy, more such efforts across the world are badly needed.

Historically, China and Europe have made great efforts, even succeeded to a certain extent, to bring the Eurasian people together. Centuries ago, our Chinese ancestors, who braved the land and the sea to establish trade routes connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, could be called the "first-generation harbingers" of globalization.