Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, arrives in Europe for a visit to Britain and Germany, at a time when the European Union is in crisis and China is booming. Neither the British nor German governments need any reminding of China’s importance to their economic prospects. Its demand for sophisticated machine tools has been a big part of Germany’s recent economic success. In Britain, Mr Wen, will go to Birmingham to visit the city’s famous Longbridge car plant, now owned by Shanghai Automotive, and will inspect a new MG sports car.

It is natural and important that the emphasis during Mr Wen’s visit should be on the benefits of co-operation between Europe and China. The future of both international politics and economics will turn on whether a rising China can sustain a co-operative relationship with the western world.

For that to happen, however, both the Chinese and the Europeans must engage with the difficult issues. The MG plant may be an example of a mutually beneficial project. But, as China looks for investment opportunities overseas, other projects may be less welcome – particularly if they involve state-owned companies which get cheap state funding or whose ownership is untransparent. Huawei, a telecoms company with global ambitions, has caused concern over its alleged links – which it denies – to the Chinese military.

Both sides have valid points to make. The Chinese rightly warn against protectionism wrapped in a national-security flag. But the Europeans should remind Mr Wen that Chinese companies may be viewed with a degree of suspicion given the volume of cybercrime emanating from China. The treatment of western investors in China over intellectual property also needs to improve.

On the political side, the release from detention of the artist Ai Weiwei should encourage the Europeans to continue pressing China on human rights.

The argument that this is counter-productive should be trumped by a recognition that the west has a moral and strategic interest in supporting universal values, such as free speech and the rule of law.

The Chinese side also has some legitimate complaints. China feels, with some justice, that the UK, the US and France have stretched the UN resolution on Libya beyond its original mandate to protect civilians. The British should remind China, however, that the origins of the problem lie partly in a Chinese (and Russian) defence of the principle of “state sovereignty” that too often slides into simple indifference to mass atrocities.

A refusal to engage with the most difficult issues of international order is no longer tenable for China, now that it is the world’s second-largest economy. With power comes responsibility.