China-EU relations have become much warmer in recent weeks. Shortly after President Xi Jinping's visit to U.K., King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande respectively came to visit China in late October and early November.

The frequency and friendliness of these visits is rare in the history of China-EU relations. There are various reasons, but the dynamics mainly lie in the necessity of cooperation between the two major world economies and in transformation of the global power structure.

A warming is natural given the importance of relationships. The EU, the United States and China are the three pillars of the world economy. According to IMF statistics for 2014, the EU collectively surpassed the U.S. GDP of $17.418 trillion to reach $18.495 trillion, while China was in third place with $10.380 trillion. Together, the GDP of the EU and China accounts for 36 percent of the world total, so close cooperation is inevitable.

Secondly, both share dissatisfaction with the United States over the TTP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) issue. In his remarks following the signing of the TPP agreement, President Barack Obama said that the U.S. should not let countries like China write the rules of international trade. Though China takes a tolerant view of the TPP in principle, it certainly has reasons to be uncomfortable with U.S. intentional efforts to build an exclusive economic alliance against China.

The EU is also unhappy because of U.S. attempts to impose the TPP model on the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). Or to put it another way: the U.S. intends to force Europe to accept what the U.S. has achieved in TTP negotiations. Though the EU is ready to negotiate, it cannot accept something being imposed on it.

The U.S. certainly is still the most influential economy. However, both China and EU, despite their strong positions in the global economy, are also victims of U.S. hegemonic behavior. For Europe, close economic relations with China will certainly increase leverage against the U.S. in the TTIP negotiations next year.

EU's overture to China thirdly reflected its long dissatisfaction with the U.S. selfish policy. Since they have to depend on the U.S. for military protection, European countries would rather like to conceal these dissatisfactions.

It is true that both EU and the U.S. are parts of the western world, and both share the interests of maintaining stable international system. But the two also have differences. Take the positions of the two on Iran nuclear issue for example. Though European countries are also concerned about potential unclear proliferation, they even need business opportunities in Iran. But previous U.S. policy in this regard had undermined their business interests. Shortly after signing the nuclear agreement JCPOA, there have been European business delegations visiting Iran every day. The eagerness actually made the difference between European countries and the U.S. and EU's dissatisfaction with the U.S. evident.

Europe is also seeking Chinese support on a wide range of issues. It is currently facing crises on three fronts -- Ukraine, refugees and debt -- which pose grave economic, social and security challenges. Europe used to depend on the U.S. to resolve these issues, but the Obama administration has proved to be a lame duck at home and even reluctant to invest resources to deal with European problems.

Though all these problems will have to be dealt with by the European countries themselves, China's support will be crucial, especially in economic terms. China is financially in better position to help by expanding investments and using its large market.

The recent Europe-China rapprochement also signifies Europe's more sincere acceptance of the reality of global power transformation. Ten years or even further back, while meeting their Chinese counterparts, European leaders and scholars would always question China on human rights issues in a manner of censorious teacher.

Things have changed greatly. European leaders have been accustomed to meeting Chinese counterparts on an equal footing and in a more polite manner. And it seems that European leaders have finally realized that China's political system and development path are of rationales.

This kind of change should be attributed to the frequent interactions in all fields, but also to the change of power on the grounds, in economic field in particularly.

While this kind of change should be appreciated and respected, it is unfortunate that European society is not keeping pace with their leaders and elites, especially in Western Europe. For instance, many media still question the legitimacy of the high level interactions between Europe and China.

Source of documents：China.org.cn