Brussels, 06/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - At a public hearing on China at the EP on Tuesday evening organised by the Green group, the President of the ALDE group, Graham Watson, stressed the potential for China to be transformed under European influence within China. He explained that the last time China opened up to the West it was more than 600 years ago and did not last long and the current opportunity of China's openness should be seized without trying to take over the country again. Watson said China was becoming an ever more complex economy connected with globalisation and high technology, and this was a process which could not be influenced from the outside. Citizens, companies and NGOs are becoming less dependent on the political administration in Beijing, he added. To deal with issues like democracy, human rights and environmental concerns, one had to rely on international law and existing legal systems, he said. (eh)