China-Europe cooperation remains stable amid European uncertainties

BUILDING MUTUAL TRUST

On how to boost mutual trust between China and Europe, Zhao said the two sides can enhance mutual understanding through communication between media and think tanks.

Gerhard Stahl, a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and the Peking University HSBC Business School, said China and Europe can enhance people-to-people exchanges through cultural activities and tourism.

"To make sure people understand the diversity or differences of this colorful Chinese population, art is one of the most interesting channels where people very quickly realize that Chinese citizens have the same problems as Europeans and where people develop sympathy," Stahl told Xinhua.

"Also, what builds trust? It is tourism if it is well done, so that people can explore the beauty, the history of China, and some modern part of China. And vice versa, if Chinese people come to see Europe, it also helps a lot," he said.

Mutual visits of Chinese and European tourists have seen an annual growth of 10.6 percent since Europe was listed as a tourist destination for Chinese citizens in 2004, according to Dai Bin, director of China Tourism Academy, a research institution affiliated with the China National Tourism Administration.

In 2016, more than 3.1 million Europeans visited China and over 3.4 million Chinese citizens visited European countries, Dai told a recent meeting on China-EU tourism.

The China-EU Tourism Year 2018 will be inaugurated in January.