Xi visit cements ties with EU

Before leaving Germany, Xi visited a logistics center at the inland port in Duisburg, linked with China by the world's longest rail freight transport line.

The final stop on Xi's European tour was Belgium, where he had talks with Premier Di Rupo and attended lavish state banquet offered by King Philippe.

In Brussels, Xi also paid the first ever visit by a Chinese president to the EU headquarters where he met with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz.

The EU is China's largest trading partner, with two-way trade at more than a billion euros a day, so naturally economic issues were high on the agenda. A number of trade disputes had been resolved before Xi's visit, so the talks were centered on future cooperation, especially the likely impact of the investment treaty that is under negotiation. The Chinese side made clear their faith in Europe's economic recovery and said China wanted to double its investments in the EU in the next five years. There was also a pointer to an eventual future free trade area.

On the political side there were discussions about regional hot spots and an agreement to intensify cooperation on foreign and security policy. Herman Van Rompuy pointed to the recent joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden as an example of how the two sides could cooperate in the future. Africa was also singled out as a region where the two sides should deepen cooperation. There was also agreement to intensify the dialogues on human rights and the rule of law.

The final event was a speech on EU-China relations in the historic city of Bruges. President Xi praised the achievements of the EU and described the process of European integration as a major contribution to world peace. He cited the 2020 Strategic Agenda, agreed at the last summit in Beijing, as the basic building block to continue the EU-China strategic partnership into its second decade.

In addition to the many trade deals and new political agreements signed, Xi's visit will have given him first-hand experience of four important EU member states as well as the EU institutions. Xi will also have cemented his contacts with European leaders, which will be important for future relations. China has described 2014 as "the year of Europe." President Xi's visit has ensured that it will be a successful year in EU-China relations.

The author is director of the EU-Asia Centre in Brussels.