Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT

In late September, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK, China announced its intentions to contribute to the European Commission's investment plan, thus making it the first non-EU country to do so. China-EU economic relations appear to be in a honeymoon period due to rapid investment expansion, but concerns are also being raised about Chinese firms' aggressive efforts to gain a greater presence in the EU market.

In the West, some comments said that a number of Chinese enterprises, especially those run by the State, may be expanding overseas to support national interests rather than their own needs. They also cautioned that EU firms may lose their market advantage to Chinese competitors after the latter gain brand recognition and proprietary technologies through increased mergers and acquisitions in Europe.

Official data from China's Ministry of Commerce shows that Chinese firms' non-financial investments in Europe rose by 367.8 percent, year-on-year, in the first five months of this year. Although this investment expansion certainly appears aggressive, the challenges brought by it have been exaggerated.

Misconceptions about Chinese investment may have proliferated among some western media outlets and public discussions, but they have not bothered the business sector. As far as I know, European businesses have developed close relationships with Chinese firms based on mutual respect as well as mutual benefit. They have always adopted an open and positive attitude toward cooperating with Chinese companies.

For instance, more than 20 Chinese business leaders organized by China Entrepreneur Club, including former president of China Merchants Bank Ma Weihua, were warmly welcomed by European business leaders during an eight-day visit to Europe that began on October 13. Teams at German carmaker BMW have worked for several months to get the company ready to host the Chinese delegation. They view this visit not just as a formality, but as an opportunity for frank talks with Chinese business leaders, talks that will prove beneficial to BMW now that China is one of the company's largest overseas markets.

European business leaders know that the core competitiveness of a company won't suffer as a result of economic cooperation and exchange. Chinese firms also clearly understand that they cannot simply copy technology and business management models from the EU. Businesspeople in both regions have earned their business success through hard work, and if they could meet with success by simply copying others' work, doing business would be too easy.

If firms on both sides have shown a strong desire to further boost economic cooperation, why are there still many misunderstandings about Chinese investment in Western media and public opinion?

First, some Chinese firms are indeed not doing well enough, even though individual companies' actions do not indicate that Chinese investment as a whole will pose problems to technology disclosure and economic security. In fact, there may be some technology imitation gray areas that must be legally clarified. Many Western media outlets have criticized the moral principles of Chinese firms who fall into these gray areas, but the most effective solution to this issue is to urge local authorities to clarify the relevant rules and boundaries.

Second, many of those who have criticized Chinese firms' overseas investment show a lack of understanding of Chinese companies. Currently, the West attaches great importance to stories about China's macro economy, particularly overall stock market performance, GDP growth and other economic indicators. But these types of stories lack detail and only offer a fuzzy image of the Chinese economy.

The West needs to pay more attention to more finely detailed micro stories about China. Misunderstandings could be automatically eliminated if stories about China's economy were told through analyses of specific firms and enterprises. During the business visit to Europe mentioned above, concerns about national interests' role in Chinese firms' overseas investment evaporated after the Chinese business leaders pointed out that their firms have been listed on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges, suggesting that they have adopted modern corporate mechanisms to make sure that they are not unduly influenced by national interests.

Sadly, there are few other opportunities like the business visit to tell China's micro stories. The world's still-indistinct understanding of the concept of Chinese entrepreneurship continues to be easily distorted by Western ideology and politics. However, if this concept were to draw upon the examples of specific individuals such as Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma Yun or Yu Minhong, chairman of the NYSE-listed New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc, it might gain more emotional resonance in the West. Many Chinese entrepreneurs such as these have built their business empires from scratch amid fierce market competition, just as their competitors in the West did.

Expanding people-to-people exchanges is a tried-and-true way to help deepen understanding, and such an approach will only become more important as China-EU economic relations enter a new era.

The article was composed by Global Times reporter Hu Weijia based on an interview with Cheng Hong, secretary-general of the China Entrepreneur Club.