Together with the top European Union leadership, I will be in China on July 12-13 to participate in 18th EU-China Summit. I was in Beijing at the end of April and in the past three weeks my fellow commissioners in charge of transport, energy and climate change, and trade have all made high-level visits. The EU's new China strategy, released on June 22, will guide bilateral relations for the coming years.

Our economies are going through profound transformations. The EU is making a digital and innovation leap as it recovers from the financial crisis and China is transitioning into a fundamentally new economic model, with formidable challenges. As vice-president in charge of the EU's broad economic relationship with China, I believe this will not only mean a new era for both of us, but also a new era for the EU-China relationship itself, where we can contribute more than ever to each other's success and prosperity.

All this underlines the importance of the EU-China partnership. In the wake of the new situation after the United Kingdom referendum (resulting in the UK's exit from the EU), it also illustrates the importance of the EU's vast single market as a powerful engine of prosperity for EU citizens - and for key partners like China. The EU is the world's largest trader of goods and services.