Significant common interests in critical sectors have created a close interdependency between the two sides, but long-standing differences also exist. At the political level, the two sides already have stable channels of dialogue, institutionalized contact mechanisms and skillful corps of diplomats. However, the situation at social level still leaves much to be desired. At the moment, the degree of mutual understanding and cognition between European and Chinese society is very low.

Logo of EU-China Year of Youth. Chinese and EU leaders signed a first joint declaration on strengthening dialogue and cooperation on youth issues as the EU-China Year of Youth kicked off in Brussels on January 11, 2011.

Although bilateral contact at the government level has a history of more than 30 years, real comprehensive social interaction between the two sides has just begun in recent years. For Europeans who mostly perceive China through CNN and BBC, and Chinese people who hardly know the location of the EU's capital, the development of cross-cultural communications is a crucial missing link which should have been initiated decades before. Fortunately, at the 12th EU-China summit, the political elites of both sides showed valuable foresight and sagacity in working to further such contacts. As a result, the importance of youth diplomacy has become a consensus for the two sides.

Although official procedures and lengthy government conversations are still the main ways to deal with diplomatic disputes, more diversified social interactions between China and the EU will generate greater pressure for the current diplomatic system to evolve. The young generation's ability to access information and share knowledge is greater than any previous era, and that enables them to grasp changing situations in every corner of the world more quickly and directly. Meanwhile, with international study, travel and volunteer work, young people are taking the lead in civilian exchanges between countries, contributing to the rapid development of youth diplomacy.

For a marriage such as China and the EU's, a lack of social exchange is obviously incompatible with the stable and increasingly institutionalized political relations between both sides. In the long-term, the "young diplomats" of Europe and China will eventually become the core of bilateral relations. A firm commitment to youth diplomacy signals not only further improvement of Europe-China relations, but also the best way for the two sides to invest in the future.

Zhang Haiyang is a researcher with the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.