After all the bargaining chips had been exchanged and all the ink had been spilled, Greece rejected its creditors' bailout offer and its conditions of austerity in Sunday's referendum. Figures released by the country's Ministry of Interior show that 61 percent of the voters said "No," against 39 percent who voted "Yes."

Now questions and concerns rise again. In a televised address, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, after intensively campaigning for a "No" vote, said "Greece will go back to the negotiating table." However, the result is seen by some EU officials as an outright refusal of negotiations with creditors. Many people are warning that the country is now more likely to be ejected from the eurozone.

After the exchange of criticism, it is apparent that both the EU and Greece should fulfill their respective responsibilities in the debt crisis. For the EU, the design of eurozone has serious deficiencies as it has failed to deal with the imbalance of development among different European countries. For the last two decades, Eastern and Southern European countries have been enduring a widening gap between the high price of commodities and low incomes. Besides, the European Central Bank doesn't have a plan or a mechanism to address a crisis like this.

Greece, without a thriving real economy, clearly cannot sustain its expensive system of social welfare. An extremely unbalanced structure of revenue and expenditure is the millstone around Greece's neck that has pulled it into the abyss. But it seems that the Greeks are still not aware of this problem. That is why in the referendum they still find the austerity terms offered by the EU are too rigorous to be accepted. However, although it said "No," Greece has little confidence that it could live better outside the eurozone.

Despite the disagreements between Greece and the EU authorities, China has been encouraging rapprochement. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on his recent visit to Europe expressed his hope that Greece and the EU will reach a deal as soon as possible, and that Greece would stay in the eurozone. China, according to him, "has taken real actions to respond to the concern." During his stay in Greece in 2014, China and Greece signed business deals worth about $5 billion.

His words led to speculation as well as raised expectations, which are about whether China is prepared to "save Europe and Greece." A recent article published in The Diplomat argued that China "is in a position to help Greece out - should it choose to do so."

Li's remarks and activities in Europe during his visit have shown that China attaches great importance to its relationship with Greece as this can help bring closer China and the EU.

What is happening in Greece has revealed the EU and eurozone's malady: Economic slowdown hinders the process of bridging the gap between developed Western Europe and less developed Eastern and Southern Europe.

China believes that these long-term issues might be its opportunities to find more common ground for cooperation with the EU. After Jean-Claude Juncker was elected as president of the European Commission in November, he came up with a massive investment plan worth 350 billion euros ($385.7 billion). However, only a fraction of the investment will come from the EU itself. The Juncker plan requires outside sources of funds to sustain itself.

China thinks that its "One Belt, One Road" initiative can work with the Juncker plan, as both projects seek to boost economic growth. China needs to export its excess capacity and build its brand in the global market through its advantages in equipment manufacturing. The EU needs more money to bring its post-industrial technologies into full play and benefit the less developed states with more infrastructure projects.

Although China, as an outsider, won't play a critical role in "saving Greece or Europe," it is an option for the Europeans to consider. In the long run, a more connected Sino-EU community, benefiting from greater economic integration, will make the EU and eurozone more resilient. China needs a robust euro to maintain the stability of the global financial system and an integrated EU to realize the international balance of power.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Liu Zhun based on an interview with Hu Ronghua, vice director of the European Studies Center at Fudan University. liuzhun@globaltimes.com.cn