Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission in the Juncker Commission, and other delegates from the EU visited Peking University (PKU) on May 6, 2015, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations.
A conference was held at Tan Siu Lin Center for International Studies. Professor Li Qiang, Vice Chairman of the PKU Council and President of the Center for European Studies, welcomed the delegates and briefly introduced Mogherini. Then Mogherini gave a short speech under the title of The European Union and China at 40: Ever Closer Partners for Global Challenges. She reviewed the achievements of the China-EU relationship in trade, development, and other aspects, and she commented that 2015 is an important year in EU-China cooperation. Areas in environmental issues, especially climate change, and economics, and communication are of special concern in the contemporary international environment.
After the speech, the audience raised several questions for Mogherini, which included but wasn’t limited to the prospects of the election in Britain; the unpredictability in Greece; immigration as a long-term issue that should be handled cooperatively in the EU in order to save lives; and how to solve traffic and poverty problems.
When the conference ended, the delegates met with PKU leaders; Professor Lin Jianhua, President of PKU, and other representatives welcomed the guests.
Written by: Zhong Xue
