Former Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme is interviewed on April 18 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of Understanding China, GBA Dialogue

 
Former Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme said he agrees with the European strategic autonomy statement made by French President Emmanuel Macron recently, as it's in the interests of Europe and its citizens that the European Union (EU) does not choose sides.

He also noted that it's important for the EU to work closely with China and ASEAN economies. 

Leterme made the remarks on Tuesday at the "Understanding China-GBA Dialogue" in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province.

The former Belgian prime minister told the media that notwithstanding the gratitude the EU has for the security alliance with the US and the efforts by the US in the two world wars and since, it is in the interests of EU citizens to develop this concept of strategic autonomy. It means that for the EU as a market and as a society, the best way to continue to develop is through openness. 

Macron called for European autonomy after his recent visit to China. While his comments that Europe should not become "America's followers" aroused controversy, President of the European Council Charles Michel later said that Macron's views reflect a growing shift among EU leaders, according to a Politico report.
 
"There has been a leap forward on strategic autonomy compared to several years ago," Michel told French television show "La Faute à l'Europe," said the report. 

At Tuesday's media conference, the former Belgian prime minister said that Europeans should be aware of the fact that the driving engine of the world's economy and the development of the world for the coming decades will to a very important extent be located in this part of the world - China and its surroundings, including ASEAN economies. 

"So it's in the interests of European citizens to work together very closely with China and other nations," he said, noting that it is also important for European countries to develop their capacity to be self-reliant.

He told the media that some of the sustainable development goals the world has reached in recent decades have been partly thanks to Chinese performance.

Leterme also spoke highly of China's diplomacy and the growing role that China plays in safeguarding global peace. He called for the Western world to react positively to China's diplomatic achievements, instead of seeing it as competition.

The three-day "Understanding China-GBA Dialogue" event from Tuesday to Thursday was co-initiated by the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy (CIIDS), the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the People's Government of Guangdong Province, and the Fondation Prospective et Innovation. It is being hosted by the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality. 

Themed "Chinese Modernization and New Opportunities for the World," the dialogue has attracted statesmen, strategists, scholars, and business leaders from China and beyond as well as diplomatic envoys and representatives of international organizations and multinational companies in China.