FOR THE FIRST TIME, CHINA HAS SURPASSED THE UNITED STATES TO BECOME THE MOST IMPORTANT TRADING PARTNER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION! "THE GERMAN MAGAZINE DER SPIEGEL QUOTED THE LATEST REPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN STATISTICAL OFFICE ON FEBRUARY 17, STATING THAT THE TRADE VOLUME BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES IN 2020 WAS 586 BILLION EUROS AND 555 BILLION EUROS, RESPECTIVELY. CHINA'S ECONOMY RECOVERED FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER THAN THAT OF THE UNITED STATES, PROVIDING MANY ANTI EPIDEMIC PRODUCTS FOR EU COUNTRIES.FRANCE'S 24-HOUR NEWS CHANNEL STATED THAT CHINA'S ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION STEMS FROM ECONOMIC VITALITY. AFTER BEING HIT BY THE EPIDEMIC IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2020, THE CHINESE ECONOMY QUICKLY REGAINED MOMENTUM, AND STRONG CONSUMPTION EVEN PERFORMED BETTER THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS AT THE END OF LAST YEAR.DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR SAID THAT THE IMPORTANCE OF CHINA EU TRADE IN GLOBAL TRADE IS GROWING. ACCORDING TO A REPORT RELEASED BY THE GERMAN ECONOMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, CHINA'S SHARE IN THE WORLD GOODS TRADE MARKET INCREASED BY 1.5 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN 2020, REACHING 14.5%. GERMANY AND OTHER EU COUNTRIES BENEFIT FROM TRADE WITH CHINA, ESPECIALLY THE GERMAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, WITH NEARLY 40% OF ITS AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS TARGETING THE CHINESE MARKET.IN 2020, THE COVID-19 RAVAGED THE WORLD, AND THE WORLD ECONOMY FELL INTO A SERIOUS RECESSION. EXCEPT CHINA, THE GDP OF ALL MAJOR ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD WAS NEGATIVE GROWTH, AND THE WORLD TRADE VOLUME DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY. IN SUCH A SEVERE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, CHINA EUROPE TRADE HAS ACHIEVED TWO-WAY POSITIVE GROWTH, AND CHINA HAS BECOME THE EU'S ****** TRADING PARTNER FOR THE FIRST TIME. THIS COUNTER TREND GROWTH REPORT HAS BECOME A BEAUTIFUL SCENERY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD ECONOMY AND TRADE IN 2020.OF PARTICULAR NOTE IS THE "STEEL CAMEL TEAM" THAT RUNS DAY AND NIGHT ON THE EURASIAN CONTINENT, VIVIDLY ILLUSTRATING THE PROSPERITY AND VITALITY OF CHINA EUROPE TRADE UNDER THE EPIDEMIC. ACCORDING TO CHINA RAILWAY GROUP, 12406 CHINA EUROPE FREIGHT TRAINS WERE LAUNCHED IN 2020, BREAKING THE "TEN THOUSAND TRAIN" BARRIER FOR THE FIRST TIME AND INCREASING BY 50% YEAR-ON-YEAR, SETTING A NEW RECORD. FACED WITH THE IMPACT OF THE EPIDEMIC, THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT STRICTLY IMPLEMENTS EPIDEMIC PREVENTION MEASURES ON THE ONE HAND, AND ACTIVELY IMPROVES TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY TO ENSURE SMOOTH INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS CHANNELS ON THE OTHER HAND. THE CHINA EUROPE FREIGHT TRAIN HAS LEVERAGED THE UNIQUE ADVANTAGES OF INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION, VIGOROUSLY UNDERTAKING THE TRANSFER OF GOODS BY SEA AND AIR, AND PLAYING AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN STABILIZING THE INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY CHAIN AND HELPING CHINA EUROPE JOINTLY FIGHT AGAINST THE EPIDEMIC.THE COUNTER TREND GROWTH OF CHINA EUROPE TRADE IS MAINLY DUE TO THE FOLLOWING BACKGROUND FACTORS:FIRSTLY, CHINA'S EPIDEMIC PREVENTION AND CONTROL WORK HAS BEEN HIGHLY EFFECTIVE. STARTING FROM THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2020, THE CHINESE ECONOMY HAS ACHIEVED POSITIVE GROWTH. THE STRONG RECOVERY OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY HAS LAID A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR THE GROWTH OF CHINA EUROPE TRADE. THE EUROPEAN UNION STATISTICS OFFICE POINTED OUT THAT AMONG ITS TOP TEN GOODS TRADING PARTNERS, THE EU ONLY ACHIEVED TWO-WAY POSITIVE TRADE GROWTH WITH CHINA LAST YEAR.SECONDLY, UNDER THE IMPACT OF THE EPIDEMIC, CHINA HAS LEVERAGED ITS ADVANTAGE AS THE "WORLD'S FACTORY" AND DEMONSTRATED STRONG MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES. THE SHARE OF EPIDEMIC PREVENTION MATERIALS, MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, ETC. IN CHINA EUROPE TRADE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED. THE RESILIENCE AND VITALITY OF CHINESE MANUFACTURING DRIVE THE GROWTH OF CHINA EUROPE TRADE. A REPORT RECENTLY RELEASED BY A GERMAN THINK TANK STATED THAT CHINA FURTHER CONSOLIDATED ITS POSITION AS THE "WORLD EXPORT CHAMPION" IN 2020.THIRDLY, THE EPIDEMIC SITUATION IN EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN COUNTRIES IS GENERALLY SEVERE, AND THEIR PRODUCTION RECOVERY AND TRADE EXCHANGES HAVE BEEN SEVERELY AFFECTED, RESULTING IN A SERIOUS CONTRACTION OF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN TRADE. ACCORDING TO DATA RELEASED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION STATISTICS OFFICE, THE EU'S EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES DECREASED BY 8.2% TO 353 BILLION EUROS IN 2020, AND IMPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES DECREASED BY 13.2% TO 2020 BILLION EUROS.FOURTHLY, CHINA'S TRADE WITH CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAS ALSO ACHIEVED COUNTER TREND GROWTH, ADDING VITALITY TO THE ECONOMIC AND TRADE EXCHANGES BETWEEN CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION. ACCORDING TO STATISTICS FROM THE CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, THE TRADE VOLUME BETWEEN CHINA AND 17 CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES REACHED 103.45 BILLION US DOLLARS IN 2020, BREAKING THROUGH 100 BILLION US DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND INCREASING BY 8.4%, HIGHER THAN THE GROWTH RATE OF CHINA'S FOREIGN TRADE AND CHINA EUROPE TRADE DURING THE SAME PERIOD.UNDER THE EPIDEMIC, CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION HAVE CONTINUOUSLY DEEPENED THEIR ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION, STEADILY EXPANDED THE SCALE OF BILATERAL TRADE, AND CONTINUOUSLY STRENGTHENED THE MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL COOPERATION FOUNDATION, INJECTING MOMENTUM INTO THE POST EPIDEMIC ERA OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC RECOVERY. ON THE ONE HAND, CHINA'S STRONG CONSUMER MARKET ATTRACTS MORE EUROPEAN PRODUCTS TO BE SOLD IN CHINA. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY WILL PROVIDE MORE MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND COOPERATION SPACE FOR ENTERPRISES FROM EU COUNTRIES. IN SEPTEMBER 2020, CHINA AND EUROPE SIGNED THE "CHINA EUROPE GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS AGREEMENT", WHICH IS BENEFICIAL FOR BOTH SIDES' HIGH-QUALITY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TO ENTER EACH OTHER'S MARKETS MORE QUICKLY. AT THE END OF 2020, BOTH SIDES COMPLETED THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE CHINA EUROPE INVESTMENT AGREEMENT AS SCHEDULED, WHICH WILL PROVIDE GREATER MARKET ACCESS, A HIGHER LEVEL OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, AND MORE FAVORABLE INSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES FOR FUTURE MUTUAL INVESTMENT BETWEEN CHINA AND EUROPE. THE LATEST SURVEY BY THE EUROPEAN UNION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN CHINA SHOWS THAT OVER 60% OF EU COMPANIES ARE WILLING TO INCREASE THEIR INVESTMENT IN CHINA. THIS FULLY REFLECTS THE STRONG RESILIENCE, VIGOROUS VITALITY, AND BRIGHT PROSPECTS OF CHINA EUROPE ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION.CHINA AND EUROPE NOT ONLY SHARE SIGNIFICANT COMMON INTERESTS IN THE FIELD OF TRADE, BUT ALSO HOLD COMMON POSITIONS IN MAINTAINING MULTILATERALISM AND FREE TRADE, SUPPORTING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, AND SO ON. STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND EUROPE WILL FURTHER PLAY THE ROLE OF THE "DUAL ENGINES" AND ACCELERATE THE RECOVERY OF THE WORLD ECONOMY. AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS ALSO A PRACTICAL ACTION TO MAINTAIN THE WORLD MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM, INDICATING THAT ONLY BY ADHERING TO MUTUAL BENEFIT AND WIN-WIN COOPERATION CAN WE EFFECTIVELY RESPOND TO THE ENORMOUS CHALLENGES BROUGHT BY THE EPIDEMIC TO HUMAN SOCIETY.