China's Foreign Policy: A European perspective (original) (raw)
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A critical analysis of European Union foreign policy towards China (1995-2005)
2006
Table of contents 1 Preface 4 List of Tables and Figures 6 List of Acronyms 7 Introduction Summary 11 Aim and contribution 14 Assumptions 16 Research design The scholarly literature on EU-China relations Structure of the thesis Chapter 1 European Union foreign policy and China 1.1 The European Union as a global actor 1.2 EU foreign policy 1.3 Europeanisation 1.4 The large EU member states' strategies towards China 1.5 The instruments of EU foreign policy Conclusion Chapter 2 From secondary relationship to post-Cold War partnership: EU-China relations in the period 1975-1995 Introduction 2.1 Europe-China relations during the Cold War 2.2 Tiananmen 2.3 Developments in Europe and China at the beginning of the 1990s 2.4 The relations between the large EU member states and China in the first part of the 1990s 2.5 A turning point: The adoption of the policy of constructive engagement Conclusion Chapter 3 The interregional level I-The economic dimension: The EU's China policy in the context of the New Asia Strategy and the Asia-Europe Meeting in the 1990s Introduction 3.1 The making o f the EU's New Asia Strategy 3.2 The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) 3.3 Behind ASEM: the emergence of a tri-polar economic order 101 3.4 The flip-side of East Asia's success: "economic orientalism" 107 3.5 The discourse of the "Asian values" 111 1 3.6 The Asian financial crisis and the EU's response 115 3.7 The emergence of China as the cornerstone of the EU's Asia policy Conclusion 121 Chapter 4 The EU's policy of constructive engagement towards China: the trade-off between economic security and human rights Introduction 4.1 The new significance of the Chinese market for Europe's economic security in the post-Cold War era 4.2 Europe's significance for China's economic security 4.3 EU-China commercial relations 4.3.1 EU member states' competition for China's market shares 4.4 Human rights and the Taiwan issue in EU-China relations 4.5 The EU-China Human Rights Dialogue 4.6 The Nordic countries' development cooperation with China 4.7 The emergence of China as a financial and banking power and the role of the UK and its financial community 4.8 At the heart of constructive engagement: the European Commission support for China's integration in the international community and transition to an open society Conclusion Chapter 5 Strategic partnership I: Galileo and advanced technology transfers Introduction 5.1 The discourse of "strategic partnership" 5.2 The Galileo satellite network and China 5.2.1 The commercial side of Galileo 5.2.2 The political side of Galileo 5.3 Behind Galileo: the development of an independent European 181 aerospace sector in the post-Cold War era 5.4 EU member states' space policies and the role of France 5.5 Behind China's participation in Galileo: fostering Beijing's space program 5.6 Galileo and the GPS 201 5.7 Pragmatic engagement: When Europe's commercial interests meet with China's desire to acquire Western technology Conclusion Chapter 6 Strategic partnership II: The arms embargo issue and East Asia's strategic balance Introduction 211 6.1 The debate on the arms embargo 6.2 European arms export control policies and the EU Code of Conduct 6.3 The European defence sector 6.4 US opposition to the lifting (and to China's participation in Galileo) 6.5 East Asia's strategic balance. 224 Conclusion 230 Chapter 7 The interregional level II-The security dimension: Europe's involvement in East Asia's strategic balance and the Taiwan issue
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.
European Foreign Affairs Review
China-EU affairs have acquired a new quality and depth. The growing institutionalization of cooperation between the two bears are witness to this dynamism. These developments have been subject to growing attention from academic and research institutions. However, only a few studies have been carried out with the specific aim of providing an outline of how the EU is perceived in China. This article seeks to start filling this gap by offering an outline of how the EU is perceived by China's press, political elites and civil society. The article argues that the dynamism with which China and the EU approach each other is a clear signal that both sides see each other as potential allies in a variety of contexts. The absence of hard security conflicts is an important facilitating factor of this process of convergence. However, the USA continues to play an important role in this context both as a stimulating and constraining factor. Therefore, it is appropriate to think of China and the EU as two actors experiencing a more mature relationship in a changed systemic environment. European Foreign Affairs Review 12: 311-330, 2007.
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...
EU-China Political and Security Relations: Gaps, Challenges and Perspectives
Quarterly Journal of Chinese Studies Vol 1, Num 2, 2012
The European Union's relevance in East-Asian political and security issues, developed mainly during the last two decades, remains limited and relatively low profile. After these two decades, the persistent gap between rhetoric and materialized joint action remains existent. However, since its formalization, the EU-China 'Strategic Partnership' has achieved a significant deepening and widening in both recognized potential for further cooperation as well as in concrete joint action. Yet, points of tension still exist, mainly coming from disagreements in terms of values and conception of the international system. The significant rise of China and its increasing presence in international affairs has brought about, for the EU, a significant challenge. On the one hand, strengthening and deepening its relations with China is a necessary condition for the EU to consolidate its role as an international actor; while on the other hand, China's strong demands for respect on national sovereignty and to be regarded in terms of equality, challenge the EU's traditional value-based diplomacy. Paradoxically, China, because of the challenges it presents for the EU alongside with the necessity and determination to strengthen this relation, may be becoming a driving force for the consolidation of the EU's personality as a foreign and security actor. Thus, this article will first give a historical overview of EU-China relations since the end of the Cold War; secondly, it will review the main challenges and gaps still present in the bilateral relations; and finally, it will evaluate the perspectives and possible future direction of this important 'Strategic Partnership'.
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.
China-Europe Relations: Opportunities and Risks
China’s increasing involvement in Europe, against the background of its growing economic and political strength in the international domain, creates both risks and opportunities. From an economic viewpoint, the trade between China and Europe continues to grow, and is matched by greater Chinese investment in Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time, there are substantive political disputes between the sides, particularly with respect to violations of human rights and the status of China in the World Trade Organization. The West European countries fear that China’s growing involvement will allow it to leverage its economic power in order to achieve political objectives. In addition, the increasing military cooperation between China and Russia arouses major concern among European countries, particularly in view of the change in American policy toward Europe under the Trump administration.