China, Europe ‘share same worry’ about unilateralism, can work together: ESM director

Europe and China have an opportunity to pave a path of multilateralism, as they share the same values for a rules-based trade relationship and have deepened financial cooperation, according to the managing director of the euro zone’s permanent rescue fund that helps protect member states in dire financial straits.

At a time when others are challenging multilateralism and triggering widespread concerns, “we share the same worry in China and Europe”, said Pierre Gramegna, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), at the end of his visit to Beijing on Tuesday.

Gramegna was part of a delegation from the ESM that was in the Chinese capital since week for a regular visit, meeting with the People’s Bank of China, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and private investors.

China and Europe both believe in dialogue and the rule of law, and both refer to the World Trade Organization when problems arise, he said.

In addition to being each other’s major trading partner, China also plays an increasingly important role as an investor in the European fund.

Asian buyers of ESM bonds contributed 9 per cent of their total investment in 2023, and in 2024, this figure jumped to 22 per cent, Gramegna said, calling it a “spectacular increase” and the highest level since the ESM’s inception in 2012.