Ambassador Markus Ederer says the best way for Chinese to know Europe is to see it for themselves. Wu Chuanjing / China Daily

Ederer and his wife, Beate Grzeski, savor a cross-cultural wedding on the Great Wall last year. Provided to China Daily

The EU delegation celebrates its continental culture with a month of activities in May. Its ambassador to China shares with Mike Peters what an eventful tenure it has been for him so far, including marrying his long-time sweetheart on the Great Wall.

EU ambassador Markus Ederer is only about halfway through his tenure in Beijing, but his first two years have given him plenty to be happy about.

The EU delegation will kick off a month of "open house" events at European embassies across Beijing on May 8 for the third year - and celebrate Europe Day on May 9. Meanwhile, Ederer has just organized a China visit by Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission, one of many recent high-level visits on both continents.

He has been proud to support efforts to strengthen and broaden the Sino-EU strategic partnership, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. That has included major initiatives in sustainable urbanization, water, cyber security and defense.

In the middle of all that, Ederer also married his longtime sweetheart - Beate Grzeski, the economic counselor at the German embassy - in a ceremony on the Great Wall.

"Almost 10 years into our relationship, we decided to tie the knot in China," he says of the ceremony. "It was spiced by my Bavarian relatives coming dressed in dirndl and lederhosen, which raised a lot of attention when the whole group of about 100 went up on the Great Wall. I think the Chinese were almost as amazed at how we looked as the Europeans were amazed at the great edifice of the Great Wall.

"We built in quite a few good traditional Chinese elements into the ceremony - we had a lion dance, we had face-changing. But we didn't go overboard because after all we are not Chinese.

"It was a wonderful day, a great party," he says with a grin.

Fast forward to this month, when Europe Day events celebrate unity and peace in Europe.

It goes back to the Schuman Declaration, by then French foreign minister Robert Schuman, on May 9, 1950. After the continent was staggered by two world wars, Schuman called for France and Germany to basically pool their coal and steel industries to make war between the historic rivals "materially impossible".

That first step was "the building stone for the first European Community", Ederer says. But the day has other symbolism, too: May 9, 1945, was the first day of peace on the continent after the World War II.

Today, Europe is both very diverse and unified, and he says Europe is proud to make a cause out of "leaving our children a world which is worth living in".

"So we have developed a sustainability policy and philosophy which has made us a green power," he says, "and this technology is something we very much share with our Chinese partners. [It] very much characterizes the products and services we export to China. When you think of European cars, European machine tools, European planes - even the chemical products and the food we export - it's all very environmentally friendly and safe."

The Chinese government's confidence "has been and is an important factor" in restoring and keeping confidence in the Europe and the euro zone, Ederer says.

Meanwhile, Europe has to do its homework.

"We have started massively to reform the system. You see the member states restoring budgetary discipline, their competitiveness. You have seen the European Central Bank saying it will do whatever it takes to keep the euro. We have established a European stability mechanism worth 500 billion euro in case an intervention is needed, and we are moving toward a banking union.

"We will come out stronger from the crisis than we went into it," he says, conceding that the debt crunch is the biggest challenge to hit the EU in its existence.

"But almost paradoxically, it has not reduced in its appeal. Especially in China, I have noticed an increased interest in the EU. And that's understandable, because we are China's biggest economic partner.

"Also, look at the EU itself: We will welcome Croatia as the 28th member state in July," he says. In the eurozone, Latvia and Lithuania are seeking entry, and Poland is interested. "All of which," he says, "demonstrates the attractiveness of the EU."

He notes that just last month, before her China visit, Ashton brokered a deal between Serbia and Kosovo over a long-standing dispute. "Ultimately," Ederer says, "that happened because both countries wanted to have a prospect to enter the EU."

As the EU ambassador, Ederer's top wish is that Chinese come to the continent and see for themselves.

"We welcome Chinese visitors, be they students, researchers, tourists and businessmen, and we have been very active in trying to improve the visa facilitation. China was the first country where we created a common Shengen visa procedure, and we have worked hard to create visa centers outside the embassies and consulates, which has increased the capacity to give visas."

Last year, there was an increase of 18 percent more Schengen visas for Chinese, including 50 percent more individual visas.

He hopes such contact enables Chinese to appreciate European values: democracy, individual freedom, solidarity and human rights.

"I would like China to understand that the European Union holds a promise and an offer for China," Ederer says. "That is, when it comes to building global peace, social development and democracy. When it comes to major power relations, the EU is China's best partner."

His work has taken him around the country, but without much time to enjoy the landscape. "When I have some free time here I like hiking, biking and skiing - that's what I do around Beijing on weekends."

Thanks to such opportunities, the warmth he has felt from the Chinese people, and a very special day on the Great Wall last May, Ederer says, "China will always occupy a romantic niche in our hearts."

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 05/05/2013 page5)