How to build stronger China-EU ties while braving Trump era headwinds (original) (raw)
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2007
This paper studies EU-China relations in the 21 st century in order to identify the achievements of the two sides and the challenges they still face. The paper starts with a historical review of bilateral relations and of t h e p o l i c y p a p e r s i s s u e d b y b o t h governments. The paper also examines the framework established by the two sides to facilitate bilateral communication and cooperation. In the second part, the paper focuses on agreements and disagreements between the EU and China by looking at several issues of mutual concern. The issues covered include: understanding of the international political structure; cooperation in international affairs; the lifting of the arms embargo on China; and trade disputes. Through the analysis of these issues, the paper points out the progress and problems in bilateral relations in an effort to help readers better understand the EU-China strategic partnership. EU-China relations have been developing rapidly in recent years. Apart from the influence of t h e i n t e r n a ti o n a l p ol i ti c a l e n v i r o n m e n t i n t h e p o s t-Cold War era, the developments in both the European Union (EU) and China have created a favorable context for progress in bilateral relations. Both sides have undergone huge changes in recent years. The birth of the EU is a remarkable achievement of European integration. From the signing of the Treaty of Paris to the coming into effect of the Treaty of Maastricht; from the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in the early 1950s to the development of the internal market; t h e E U h a s b e e n demonstrating to the world the power of economic integration. Far away from the EU, on the other side of the globe, China has also achieved great progress thanks to the economic and political reforms carried out since the end of the 1970s. From planned economy to market economy; from prom oting worl d revol uti on to m aintaining gl obal peace and promoting development; China has been steadily rising. China's changes attract the EU, and the EU's experience fascinates China. Since the 1990s, the mutual attraction of the two sides has brought their bilateral relationship to a new high. Historical Review of Bilateral Relations In contrast to the rapid growth of bilateral cooperation in the last decade, the initial development of bilateral relations between the EU and China was rather slow.
THE EU AND CHINA BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP: LOOKING FOR A FRESH RESTART
Journal of Comparative Politics , 2012
The article looks at the EU and China three decade relationship and the challenges and opportunities encouraged by a common view for redesign of the international order according to a multilateral approach and some basic differences. The author analyzed the principal) policy documents approved by the European Commission and the European Council, over the years, looking to extract EU benchmark for this relationship and shows how the Chinese regard the European Union in the context of the PRC’s foreign policy.
Handbook of the Politics of China
EU-China relations have despite different histories and values, economic and political development, geographic distance and interests, not only strengthened over time in institutional terms, but also moved beyond the core area of economic interactions to involve political, security and cultural cooperation. On the whole the relationship is based on partnership and neither sees the other as a potential enemy. Both support a strong United Nations, the existing international trade system, the non-proliferation regime, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change among others. These joint perspectives are particularly valuable given the retreat of President Trump from a number of hitherto US honored international agreements and commitments, such as on multilateralism, arms treaties and international governance. On the down side initial expectations that growing economic interactions between the EU and China would narrow the gap on human rights and democracy issues between the two parties have not materialized and the EU can no longer pretend to shape the China in its own image. There are also a number of unresolved problems affecting the partnership. Among these are disputes over trade imbalances, investment access regulations in China and human rights issues, on the one hand, and the persistent arms embargo sanctions and unfulfilled market access status for China, on the other. Overcoming these is not being helped by existing misperceptions that Europeans and Chinese have about each other. Furthermore, as China continues to gain economically, partly through the Belt and Road Initiative, seeks to broaden its international relations policy with Chinese characteristics, and moves to an aggressive maritime policy in the East and South China Sea, the EU will find the partnership more testing at both the bilateral and multilateral level.
2013
The third Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN) annual event was held in Brussels in June. Participants included members of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission Directorate Generals, and from the academic, press and business communities from across the Member States. The event focused on the tenth anniversary of the strategic partnership between China and the EU, and was held in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Governance. On the European side, there were participants from institutions in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, the UK, Denmark, Portugal and Poland. The conference also saw participation by three younger scholars who were winners of an essay competition on the EU-China relationship, run in collaboration with the University of Nottingham. The overall framework of the two-day event was provided by two opening speeches by Viorel Isticioaia- Budura, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at the EEAS, and Lirong Zhang, Chargé d’Affaires at the Chinese Mission to the EU. They referred to the achievements of both sides in establishing a rich network of dialogues and exchanges, but also to some of the challenges over the last decade, with particular reference to the ongoing trade dispute over proposed tariffs for solar panels which has recently become an issue. They made clear that the overall strategic direction of the relationship has been a positive one, but that there remain issues over establishing greater trust, and being able to deliver on hard outcomes. For the Chinese, there was a sense of frustration at the ways in which the EU had been unable to move on from some of the most difficult issues, like lifting the EU-China arms embargo imposed after the unrest in China in 1989, and conferring market economy status to China. It has been the failure to move on from issues such as these that has created the sense of a trust deficit between the two, despite their wide-ranging dialogues.
Glimpse at EU–China relationships since 2008
Baltic Journal of European Studies, 2000
United Europe-China relations have a long history. For many years they have developed successfully, but not along a simple course. The main thesis of this article is that the year 2008, which is associated primarily with the onset of the financial crisis in Europe, became a watershed in the history of bilateral relations between EU and China. Over the past few years the agenda and the role of the actors, and also the content and format of discourse have changed dramatically. This article is devoted primarily to some aspects of the EU’s position in relation to China and, to a lesser extent, to the position of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Therefore the history of contacts between the two sides will be considered especially in the light of some EU publications, while China will be outside our primary area of focus. Unlike many studies on economic cooperation between EU and China, our paper will accentuate the political component of the relationship. We shall try to demonstrate...
THE EU AND CHINA IN A NEW WORLD ORDER: CHALLENGES AHEAD
EUCROSS Jean Monnet network Working Paper, July 2019, pp. 1-20, 2019
This EUCROSS working paper analyzes European Union-China trade relations in the context of the current negotiations for a new comprehensive framework agreement between the European Union (EU) and the People’s Republic of China. China is a strong economic power with increasingly sophisticated production in its coastal regions and is attempting to establish itself as a gravity center by concluding many bilateral free-trade agreements in the region. Although China has a strong hold in the Far East, there may be specific policy areas in which China’s influence ends up being global. The paper is divided into six parts. After the introduction, Part II explains the steps taken for negotiating a new comprehensive framework agreement between China and the European Union. Part III is devoted to EU-China trade relations, and Part IV to the bilateral trade relations from a Chinese perspective. Part V examines the various ways to improve the currently difficult EU-China trade relation, followed by the conclusions in Part VI. The paper concludes that dealing with China was one of the main arguments in favour of ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon because it provides for a permanent president of the European Council and a single foreign affairs post for the entire EU, which facilitates the EU’s coherence in its external affairs. Moreover, the paper concludes that the European Commission should negotiate the prospective Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and China more constructively, without patronizing, and instead accept China as an equal player in the current multipolar framework of global economic governance.
Both the EU and China face a number of challenges. The EU has reached the pinnacle of international identity and is going through a rather difficult process of rethinking it. Regarding China, this actor goes through a phase of rethinking its economic growth model, namely the transition from an economy based, in greater extent on exports and investment to an economic growth based on stimulating domestic consumption. In this context, in order to meet the challenges of the third millennium and beyond, the two actors need to strengthen their cooperative relations as they are vital in solving the challenges of this millennium. This paper aims to provide an overview of EU-China economic relations and to analyse the impact of these relations on the EU economy.