October 1st (AMSP/CGTN) – – Austria’s former president Heinz Fischer called China’s economic growth ‘admirable’ and the rise of its working class ‘promising’. It was during an interview with CGTN’s correspondent Johannes Pleschberger in Vienna, looking back on 75 years of the People’s Republic of China.
As former president Heinz Fischer has been to China many times, the CGTN’s correspondent wanted to know how he sees changes and the country’s development in recent years.
Heinz Fischer replied that Austria was one of the first countries in the Western world to establish diplomatic relations with China, which started in the year 1971. “We wanted to learn more about China, cooperation with the country where the development of economy and therefore the wealth of the people and the rise of the working class and the peasants was the main goal. So for me, this was a promise, and the promise was on a good road in the next years,” he underscored.
Mr. Heinz has been the head of the Austrian Society for Chinese Studies for eight years now. CGTN asked him if cultural understanding between China and Europe needs more efforts.
For his part, Mr. Heinz believes that Europe as a whole and Austria in particular, is very much interested in good relations to culture. “If the political relations would be as good as the cultural relations, we could be very happy and we could sleep well, and could rely on a good future,” he highlighted.
Concerning the EU tariffs on the Chinese electric vehicles, Mr. Heinz expressed his opinion saying that in the European Union, there is the opinion privately prevailing. He pointed out that they must do everything to an extent that European technology is not used in China without that they can use Chinese technology in Europe in the same way and in the same amount. “But always, a functioning market and the free market and active supported market, is my opinion. I’m not an economist, but in my opinion, better than limitations and boycotts and higher tariffs and trade obstacles, etc… This is my general approach to this question,” he said.
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