With so many fires to fight, the EU has forgotten its mission

The EU should remember that all of the countries in Western Europe, other than Belgium, have already become founding members of the AIIB.

Such strong engagement should be further facilitated, instead of being blocked, when the EU deals with China through policy debates and exchanges.

In addition to several seminars on the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road held in Brussels last week, e-commerce and digital cooperation were also discussed.

Duncan Clark, the author of Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built, has raised the question: When will Europe have its own Jack Ma? The British writer talks about Ma's massive scale of financing and nurturing small-and medium-sized enterprises.

Clark's question sheds light on the EU's inward protectionism and its tight regulatory framework, despite the fact that the bloc is supposed to be advocating a single digital market comprising 500 million consumers.

The EU should remember that mutual cooperation is the only way ahead.

Chinese culture has taught many people, especially diplomats, the importance of being reserved. But last Friday, when Qu Xing, a professor-turned-ambassador in Belgium, was delivering a key note speech at a forum on the Belt and Road Initiative, he straightforwardly pointed out that China doesn't aim to be praised for raising its issues, but instead wants them to be a mutually-benefiting public good.

In a nutshell, that is the dominating philosophy when China is engaging with the world: it wants win-win situations, instead of winners and losers.

It is the right time for the EU leaders to think about issues from the other side's perspective if they really want to protect the interests of the EU.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau.

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn