A carnival held in East Beijings Chaoyang Park last September attracted thousands of visitors, showcasing natural landscapes, culture and folk art of European countries.
The event was one of those to celebrate the 30 years anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU). But perhaps the dazzling economic relationship growth is an even better gift to the anniversary.
According to the statistics with the Chinese Customs, two-way trade between China and the EU hit US$240 billion last year, reflecting a new height of bilateral trade relationship.
In fact, this means China and Europe achieved, eight years ahead of schedule, the US$200 billion trade target they set in 2003 set for 2013.
Lots of works had been done to achieve this goal, including frequent senior officials visits, trade-promoting events organized by commercial organizations as well as exhibitions and trade fairs at both sides.
The joint efforts of China and the EU have resulted in an all-directional and multi-level co-operation in extensive areas between the two sides, said Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng.
"The two parties are active in developing a future-oriented comprehensive and strategic partnership," he said.
"In particular, the bilateral economic and trade relations are expanding rapidly with ever-deepening co-operation in various fields."
Some economists and officials at both sides hoped at the beginning of this millennium that the EU-China relationship should become the most important relationship in the world.
Perhaps it already is. In 2004, the EU actually replaced the United States to become Chinas largest trading partner.
Chinas exports to the EU hit US$143.7 billion in 2005, up 34.1 per cent over the previous year; while the countrys imports from the EU stood at US$ 73.6 billion, up 4.9 per cent from a year ago.
However, a paralleled development is the EUs intensified anti-dumping measures against Chinese products.
The EU has been the top user of anti-dumping measures against China for two years in a row.
For example, the EU launched a provisional anti-dumping duty on leather shoe imports from China, reflecting the largest anti-dumping case against China.
Experts said it was normal for China to see trade disputes with the EU under such big trade volume, believing more problems could be resolved through dialogues.
The disagreement over textile imports occurred last year just provided a clear example.
The United States and several other countries had imposed limitations on Chinese textile and garment imports. The European Commission, the EUs executive body, chose to solve it through active negotiations and consultations with its Chinese counterpart.
The two sides eventually reached an agreement allowing Chinese textile exports to the EU to grow at specified rates.
"The consensus means that things could get even better," said Gao Hong, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Looking ahead, China and the EU are facing a number of areas to co-operate with each other.
An impending job is to launch talks on a new partnership framework agreement, in a bid replace the 1985 Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement.
The new agreement, which will cover more layers of bilateral relations between China and the EU, is expected to lay a solid foundation for the economic and trade growth in the future.
"Besides being a foreign investment attractor, China is also increasingly regarded as an outward investor," said Gao Hong.
For instance, France has established an investment-promoting office in Shanghai last year, specializing in attracting Chinese investment to the country. Commerce associations of some other European countries are also encouraging investment from China.
These government-supported move, he said, would provide Chinese firms better understanding of the European economic bloc and accelerate their steps to go global.
