Poland backs enhanced relations with China
Updated: 2011-07-15 19:29
By Ma Liyao (China Daily)
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BEIJING – Poland will support the European Union in its rotating presidency to enhance cooperation with China in energy, urbanization and other global challenges, Poland’s ambassador to China, Tadeusz Chomicki, said.
Chomicki also told China Daily in an exclusive interview that Poland will focus on person-to-person contact, especially communication among European and Chinese youth, during the next six months.
Chomicki said helping shape better understandings between China and the EU is on its agenda, adding specific plans for cooperation needed to be decided after discussion among all member states.
"We will be having EU-China Summit later this year in Beijing, and we believe better understanding on both sides to enhance trust is necessary to achieve progress in many fields,” Chomicki said.
Officials first held the annual summit in 1998 as a platform for regular high-level exchange. After the 13th China-EU Summit last October, the two sides issued a joint communiqué, vowing to open a new phase in their relations and build on past achievements.
Energy safety is one of the many fields in which the EU will enhance cooperation with China, Chomicki said.
Both Poland and China rely heavily on coal, which is why, Chomicki said, he finds it very important for European countries to cooperate with China on energy consumption.
"Searching for the clean coal energy and eliminating pollution created by using coal in energy production is very similar need and target for both China and Poland in the larger context of energy cooperation."
Urbanization is another area for China and the EU to cooperate, Chomicki said.
"China has plans to move millions of people from countryside to the cities, and the sustainable development of city life is a big challenge for China. And we would like to enhance cooperation with China in that field,” he said.
Chomicki acknowledged both the EU and China as important global players, and said global challenges, like climate change and environmental protection, are their common responsibilities.
"Cooperation in these fields will permanently be part of our bilateral relations,” he said.
The year 2011 is “EU-China Youth Year”. Poland has programs to bring people, specifically young people, together to get to know each other. The countries want to exchange cultural knowledge and also bring together young entrepreneurs to exchange their views, Chomicki said.
“This is a long-term operation ? planting the seeds. Young people get together and become interested in each other and operating with each other, then our future is secure, and I can be optimistic about the future development in China and Europe.”
Taking over the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1 from Hungary, Poland took on the consequences of a sovereign debt crisis. That’s one of the main challenges that the EU is facing, and Chomicki said solidarity is a shortcut to the solution.
The ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone remains the leading threat to the global economy, according to new research by Fitch Ratings. More European countries, including Ireland and Italy, are now facing the threat of lower credit rating.
“We believe the current situation is not a euro zone crisis, and euro will survive as an important currency in the world and an important instrument of European integration,” Chomicki said.
As the president of the EU, Poland is looking to bring about the spirit of solidarity by deepening the Single Market and opening new external markets.
Poland’s main goals are to enhance energy security, food security and border security as part of its overall idea to “secure Europe” during its presidency.
Poland has set one of the objectives as “impetus for development of the comprehensive EU external energy policy”, according to Polish Embassy’s introduction on July 1. An Energy Council meeting is scheduled on November 24 in Brussels.
Poland will also work to improve the cooperation between the EU and NATO during its presidency, Chomicki said.
Please see the video clip of the exclusive interview at http://m.512aiai.com/video