Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

From German Chancellor Angela Merkel to French President Francois Hollande, several European leaders have visited China in recent days. These frequent exchanges at high political levels show the partnership between China and Europe is closer than ever.

While political relations are deepening, a new era of economic partnership between the two parties is being formed quietly and quickly, characterized by three major developments.

First, some sectors, especially the digital and environmental industries, are becoming important pillars for growing economic exchanges between China and Europe.

This development is underlined by the recent announcement by Chinese authorities that China considers the construction of an ecological civilization as one of its most important development objectives. The authorities also named innovation and the Internet industry as drivers of the economy.

Secondly, the rapid growth of Chinese investment in Europe will further grow the China-EU economic partnership. The amount of Chinese direct investment in Europe increased by 367.8 percent between January and May this year, according to figures from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

These trends prove that the alleged slowdown of the Chinese economy is not at all a crisis as some people have imagined it.

"The downturn is less a sign of catastrophe than of the long-awaited shift to a market economy model that is service-based and consumption-driven," the European Council on Foreign Relations, a leading research center in Europe, said in a recent report.

The third development is that Europe and China are becoming partners in constructing a new international economic and financial order.

This year, from east to west in Europe, many European countries have expressed their appreciation for the China-proposed "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

The European troika including Britain, France and Germany, have positively participated in the setting up of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, proposed by China.

Several European countries have also publicly expressed support for RMB participation in Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and for the implementation of IMF reforms, which has been delayed for years. So, the signal is clear: China's intention to peacefully develop a win-win situation has been well recognized in Europe, and cooperation with China is full of potential and opportunities.

The authors are writers with the Xinhua News Agency. The article first appeared on Xinhua. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn