On September 20, the China-Europe Young Leaders Dialogue, themed “China-Europe Relations in a Multipolar World”, was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Fang Yi, Vice President of the All-China Youth Federation, Vice President of the Zhejiang Youth Federation, and Chairman of Merit Interactive, and Augusto González, President of the Young European Leadership, attended the event and delivered speeches. About 60 people participated, including young parliamentarians, young officials, and heads of youth organizations from 11 European countries, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Spain, as well as Chinese youth representatives.

On September 20, the China-Europe Young Leaders Dialogue was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Photo provided by the organizer

In his speech, Fang Yi pointed out that China and Europe have broad space for cooperation in technological innovation and other fields. The two sides have respective advantages in basic research, precision manufacturing, markets, and application scenarios, and can complement each other’s strengths to jointly promote the implementation of innovative achievements. He also stated that Chinese and European youth should become bridges for people-to-people and cultural exchanges, enhance mutual understanding through strengthened communication and dialogue, and promote young people from both sides to jointly address the challenges of the times and achieve common growth through exchange and cooperation.

In his speech, Augusto González stated that in the process of world multipolarity, China and Europe, as two major civilization centers and important forces in the world, can jointly play a constructive role. He believed that in the face of changes in the global landscape, the international governance system, financial architecture, and security mechanisms need to adapt to new realities. In the economic and trade field, China and Europe should compete where necessary, cooperate where possible, and engage in dialogue where there are differences, resolving economic and trade frictions through negotiation.

During the keynote speech session, Yu Hanzhi, a tenured associate professor and researcher at the School of Public Affairs of Zhejiang University, stated that many current global challenges are not caused by a single reason, but by a combination of issues such as insufficient resources, spillover of problems, and differing values among parties. She suggested that China and Europe strengthen targeted cooperation, rely on professional forces to promote the resolution of cross-border impact issues, handle resource shortages through intergovernmental consultation, and narrow cognitive and value differences through social dialogue.

Nicole Rita Napoli, Director of Delegation Affairs of the European Young Leaders Organisation and official at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission, stated that China-Europe relations are built on interdependence. In the face of common challenges such as artificial intelligence and climate change, China and Europe can find solutions through dialogue, mutual learning, and pragmatic cooperation. She believed that although China and Europe have differences in approaches to AI governance and economic and trade concerns, the two sides do not need to eliminate differences, but should leverage complementary roles on the basis of acknowledging differences and deepen cooperation in science and technology, education, youth, and other fields.

During the group discussion session, Chinese and European youth delegates exchanged views on four themes: “Co-Creation in Science and Technology”, “Win-Win Economic and Trade Cooperation”, “Green Partnership”, and “People-to-People Mutual Trust”.

It is understood that this dialogue was a key event of the 2026 China-Europe Young Leaders Field Study and Workshop Program. The event was held from September 18 to 24 in Zhejiang and Beijing, hosted by the All-China Youth Federation and organized by China Youth University of Political Studies, the Beijing Youth Federation, the Zhejiang Youth Federation, and China Travel Group.