Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-15 14:38:13|Editor: Xiang Bo

by Alexia Vlachou

ATHENS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will take greater responsibility as it assumes an increasingly significant role on the global stage, and the world will rely more and more on China, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has said.

"China has been looking at the UN (United Nations) system for a long time. Now they are the first contributors in terms of peacekeeping troops around the world," de Villepin told Xinhua at an international forum held in Greece.

He noted that considering the unpredictability of the United States, Europe should cooperate more with China.

"We need to have driving forces to tackle challenges and uncertainties the world faces today," he said.

From the Korean Peninsula issue to the Iran nuclear crisis, from the migration crisis to terrorism, most of the countries around the world are involved in these global issues, he said.

Besides, there are critical regional issues in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and other countries, strong economic challenges face the United States, and banks in Southern Europe are encountering various difficulties.

As the United States is pushing for isolationism and nationalism and is favoring an 'America first' approach, something needs to be done, de Villepin suggested. "We should get organized," he said.

BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE

De Villepin said the Belt and Road Initiative not only benefits the Chinese economy, but also helps safeguard the safety of countries along the routes.

He pointed out that the Belt and Road Initiative creates an opportunity for countries with different state systems along the Belt and Road to work together for their common interest, which is to protect the region from terrorism.

"One should be counting all the benefits of stability, with less wars, less tension, less crises and less terrorism. It is very important to have a global picture," he said.

He also advised Europe to learn from what China has done for Africa, and to launch a big European-African project.

"China's strategy for Africa is not only about the economy, but also involves politics, stability, culture and communication," he said.

By building more infrastructure in Africa, African people will stay in their own countries instead of coming to Europe as they have enough job opportunities in their own countries, he said.

EUROPE-CHINA PARTNERSHIP

"Europe and China can take more responsibilities, contribute more to world harmony and dialogue between countries," de Villepin said.

One of the best examples to show the beneficial cooperation between the two parties is the COP 21 (the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and their joint efforts in combating environmental challenges, he said.

China, one of the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is committed to limiting carbon emissions.

Over the past years, China has been in the forefront of fighting against climate change. Now, the two leading forces in the world for climate change are Europe and China.

Regarding the measures taken by the European Union on steel imports, de Villepin said that every country has to be able to control things without adopting protectionist measures.

"This has to be done in a very civilized way. It needs not to be a fight, my interest against your interest," he said.

Both China and Europe have to take care of their own economic interests. The escalation of measures which could be considered aggressive should be avoided, he noted.

Through dialogue between not only governments, but also companies, civil societies, universities and tourism groups, Europe and China could become closer and understand each other better.

"We need more Chinese tourists. We are happy to see that more Chinese are coming to Europe. At the same time, Europeans want to know China better," de Villepin said.

He said that the optimism of the Chinese people attracts him the most. Whenever he travels to China, he said he senses Chinese people's confidence in a better future. Chinese people are interested in new ideas, which is not the case for Europe.

"If you discuss with a young European, he has the feeling that tomorrow might be not as good as or maybe even worse than today. In China, it is different. Chinese people have seen in the last decade that things are becoming better, and they feel that they will be stronger tomorrow," he said.