The EU has drafted a new strategy for its relationship with
China, which has been described by senior EU officials as "having
returned to the center" of world affairs.
The EU's Executive Commission will release the new policy paper
today.
The paper describes China-EU relations as positive but there are
also calls for a closer partnership to deal with global challenges
such as energy supply and sustainable development as well as
smoother economic and trade cooperation.
"We both have a huge stake in effective multilateralism, and in
international peace and stability across the globe," according to
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, and External Relations
Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Walder in a jointly-written article for
the International Herald Tribune (IHT) newspaper.
"We have a shared responsibility to address climate change,
sustainable development and energy security. We have a shared
responsibility to work more closely on issues such as development
assistance in Africa."
They said that China's economic success in the past two decades
has "lifted more people out of poverty more quickly than ever in
human history" and China has become "an increasingly active
international player."
The two EU officials will present the policy document to the
European Parliament today in Strasbourg, according to European
Commission (EC) spokesman Stephen Adams.
The document, which will review China-EU relations over the past
10 years and map out a new strategic initiative for the 25-member
bloc's interaction with China, is accompanied by a policy paper on
trade and investment, the EU's first ever strategic paper focusing
solely on trade and investment with China, Adams said.
On bilateral economic and trade ties, the IHT article said:
"Europe has benefited from China's market for advanced technology,
high-value goods and complex services, and European consumers and
businesses have benefited from competitively priced Chinese
imports."
"Europe should continue to offer open and fair access to China's
exports and to adjust to the competitive challenge," they said,
urging China to strengthen its commitment to economic openness and
market reform.
"It (China) should improve legal protection for foreign
companies and reject anti-competitive trading practices and
policies," they said.
(China Daily October 24, 2006)