Martin Schulz believes the relationship between Europe and China is on the up curve. Provided to China Daily

Tipped to be the next president of the European commission, Martin Schulz looks forward to working with China

He could be the next president of the European Commission, arguably the most powerful job in the European Union.

After what many believe to be a successful stint as president of the European Parliament, some would suggest German politician Martin Schulz is now ready for the weightier role of succeeding Jose Manuel Barroso as top man at the commission.

Schulz has received the support of 21 Socialist member parties across Europe, and his nomination as the official Socialist candidate in the appointment of the next commission chief is expected to be rubber-stamped at the pan-European party's electoral congress in Rome on March 1.

As potentially Europe's next most powerful politician, what he thinks about EU-China relations matters, and on this he is generally positive.

"I think EU-China relations are healthy," he says. "We celebrated this year the 10th anniversary of our EU-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the 25th anniversary of the opening of our EU Delegation to China. China is now the EU's second-largest trading partner and the EU is China's biggest trading partner. The EU is also beginning to exit the crisis, and this is good news for China's exporters.

"Yet relations could be even healthier. There is a problem among EU member states which, in order to ingratiate the Chinese leadership, keenly hide the issues of friction between the EU and China under the carpet, and actually trade and blame EU institutions of complacency.

"This strategy might pay off in the short run, but it is bankrupt in the long run. We need not to shy away from confronting our divergences. This is the basis for a relationship based on mutual respect and openness."

Turning to trade disputes between the two sides, he says, "I do not know anyone in Brussels who wants to shut China off behind a bamboo curtain of trade barriers, but the opening-up of our markets needs to be reciprocal and take place on a level playing field."

One issue "very dear" to Schulz is health and safety at work, and he says the recent tragedy involving Chinese factory workers in Italy "reminds us of the urgency for Europe to ensure that our own house is in order".

"It also reminds us of the necessity to make sure that these standards are respected worldwide," he says. "I think reinforcing international organizations, like the WTO or the ILO, is the best way to defuse our trade tensions. The recent agreement in Bali reminds us that this path is possible and must be pursued in the interest of all."

He believes the spat over solar panels has been largely diffused.

"I can only stress that member states need to understand that we cannot afford to be driven into a game of divide et impera. This is true for any policy area, whether we talk about climate change or trade.

"Our divisions make us collectively and individually weaker vis-a-vis third partners."

Looking to future EU-China relations, Schulz believes the policies that emerged from the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China last month "reflect the wider ambitions of a new Chinese leadership, which has the willingness and strength to tackle directly the challenges China is confronted with".

These, he says, range from the demographic challenge to opening up to social organizations.

"In this sense we easily see the relationship with Europe being on the up-curve. If our increased interdependence proceeds in parallel with increased trust, I see a prosperous future."

Schulz would also like to see a more engaging and responsible foreign policy on the part of China.

"I am concerned by the increasing tensions in the neighborhood, especially the East and South China seas. I see China's diplomatic rise not as a threat, but as an opportunity. Yet stability can only come from concerted solutions. More can be done to seek compromise in the region."

Unlike some, Schulz, whose term as Parliament president runs until elections in May, views Chinese economic might as an opportunity, not a threat to Europe.

"This has driven hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. It has empowered citizens and it has also created a new class of consumers," says Schulz, who led the Socialist group in the Parliament from 2004 to 2012.

"I think the Chinese leadership is all too aware that it is in its interest to foster stability and prosperity both within China and in the world. That is why I overwhelmingly see Chinese economic growth as an opportunity."

Schulz, who is married with two children, and who worked in a publishing house and ran his own bookstore before entering politics, says: "We do not shy away from stressing the issues of contention between the EU and China, because I think a stable relationship must be based on trust and truth. Non-interference only applies to countries and peoples who have nothing to do with one another."

Schulz has been nominated for the European Commission presidency by his own Social Democratic Party of Germany. The Socialists are expected to make significant gains in the European elections, and many are demanding that the appointment of the next president must directly reflect the outcome of the poll.

That is why Schulz, whose hopes of a career as a footballer were dashed by a knee injury as a youth, is seen as serious contender, and he explains why he is standing as a candidate.

"They are the same reasons I entered into politics when I was still a teenager - because I firmly believe in the European ideal and I want to defend it and make it fit for the 21st century, making my contribution to create a fairer, more united and prosperous Europe."

The fight against euroscepticism and youth unemployment are expected to be his main platform policies for the presidency.

He is generous in describing Barroso as a "true believer in the European ideal", adding, "I have a lot of respect for him personally and as a politician. He had to deal with Europe in the eye of the storm, but I would have dealt with the crisis in a different way. In European politics, austerity has become a mantra and intergovernmentalism has been strengthened, although he is not the culprit. This is anyhow a regrettable development."

Schulz also says he is anxious about the expected influx of MEPs from the far right after the elections. "But I am neither resigned to nor intimidated by the eurosceptic and populist tide that is building up."

And the stakes are high, he says.

"They are the first elections after the arrival of the crisis, the first elections after the bailouts, the first elections when citizens will be able to endorse a candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, the first elections after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. These elections will determine the future of the EU for the next five years, and more."

Schulz insists he is focused on his presidency candidacy and has no ambitions in domestic politics.

"I have ambition for German politics, not in German politics. I want to see a Germany that is capable of advancing the general interest of the EU as a whole, rather than defending what it perceives to be its own.

"My ambition is to give back to European citizens the enthusiasm, pride and confidence in the most visionary political project that ever was."

For China Daily