Now is the time to take initiative to work for something new for the relations between Europe and China, Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy, said in an exclusive interview in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The two sides shall seek some sort of common strategy after the last decades saw that the relations between Europe and China was never hostile or good enough, said Prodi, who is also former president of the European Commission, on the sidelines of the 2nd World Conference on China Studies in Shanghai.

“(The current relations is like) we are still in the clouds without touching the real points. We are hoping for something new, but not working for something new,” he said.

Talking of collaboration potential in artificial intelligence among other emerging fields, Prodi said it cannot be divided from a frame of cooperation.

“We can cooperate in AI only if we start to set a process of cooperation in many other fields. AI needs exchange of expertise and knowledge, and we need to break the wall that we have,” he said.

Different countries and regions must cooperate among differences in the world, he noted.

“The strong self-consciousness of China is absolutely not an obstacle for cooperation. The problem is to set some common rules and a style of dialogue,” he said.

Gathering around 500 renowned scholars and experts from around the globe, the 2nd World Conference on China Studies opened in Shanghai on Tuesday. The event aims to achieve broader consensus on advancing Sinology and promote ongoing cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.