In the context of the intensifying European debt crisis, the China-Europe relations continue to prosper and great results have been achieved. The implementation by China and by the EU respectively of the Twelfth Five-year Plan and the Europe 2020 strategy has provided a new opportunity for furthering China-Europe cooperation. However, the European debt crisis has cast a shadow on the bilateral relations between China and Europe, with the contradictory positions that the Europeans take towards China's assistance not only reflecting the close links between China and Europe, but that there is still much work to be done to deepen mutual trust between the two parties. <<