What kind of 'partnership logic' should China and Europe build?

Not long ago, the 8th Giverny World Forum came to an end in France. Among them, a high-end dialogue on China Europe economic and trade cooperation and green cooperation became the most highly anticipated segment of the entire event. The Giverny World Forum, founded in 2019, has long focused on European economic development and reform. This year's theme is "Sustainability, Sovereignty, and Security," placing green transformation in the coordinate system of industrial competition and geopolitics. This dialogue directly addresses the common concern in Europe at present: how to carry out cooperation with China in the face of the turbulent and intertwined international situation? This topic itself reflects the contradictory mentality of some Europeans today: on the one hand, they acknowledge China's technological rise, but on the other hand, they cannot let go of their anxiety and concerns.

This contradictory mentality is also reflected in some public opinion circles in France. The French magazine "Viewpoint" recently launched a special topic titled "You Haven't Seen Anything About China", focusing on the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, acknowledging China's ambition to become a technological powerhouse, but more importantly, being cautious. John Seaman, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, recently analyzed in a report that China's innovation capability cannot be denied, and France's perception of related risks is becoming increasingly prominent. Sovereignty and competitiveness have become important considerations in its technology relations with China.

However, the European business community has a different view on this. On the forum, many industry insiders used Chinese innovation as a reference frame, and a guest used the large-scale application of low altitude logistics in China as a reference when envisioning future transportation. During their previous visit to China, executives from Total Energy were greatly impressed by China's innovation speed and industrial efficiency, and advocated that Europe should shift towards a true partnership based cooperation logic. In their view, being accustomed to being condescending can easily lead them to see the other person's progress as their own loss; Recognizing that innovation can grow in different places is the key to discovering new complementary spaces.

'Interdependence' has become a frequently used keyword on forums. The technological revolution has brought the world into an irreversible era of hyper connectivity, and a participant proposed that 'sufficient diversity of dependencies can itself constitute independence', which is a judgment worth pondering. Economic autonomy is not about isolation and closure, but about the ability to choose, retain alternatives, and avoid being constrained by a single source; Diversification may not eliminate all risks, but it can expand the room for maneuver. Simplifying 'de risking' into isolation and blocking not only deprives the market, but also the opportunity for innovation and joint response to challenges.

For Europe, sustainable competitiveness cannot be achieved solely through protective measures and strengthened regulation. The 2026 Electricity Report released by the International Energy Agency shows that by 2025, the electricity prices for energy intensive industries in the European Union will still be twice as high as those in the United States and nearly 50% higher than those in China. Overreliance on external energy supply, lagging grid upgrades, and poor transfer of carbon pricing costs - structural issues in Europe's energy transition have created a rift between its green ambitions and actual competitiveness. If the European side cannot face up to its shortcomings in innovation conversion rate, single market integration, energy costs, and regulatory burden, and only focuses on external competitors, it may miss the window of self-renewal.

In the face of China's technological progress, Europe should not be fixated on static algorithms that prioritize risks over opportunities. Whether we can turn "risks" into opportunities not only tests our own reform courage, but also depends on how we view our partners. The true logic of partnership is to acknowledge that each other's progress can become a common opportunity, and to accumulate trust through stable and mutually beneficial actions. Only in this way can the demand for cooperation truly be transformed into a reality of common development.