The recently concluded Eighth China-EU Summit, which was held in
Beijing September 5, achieved much in terms of strengthening ties
and boosting trade relations between China and the EU.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, current president of the
rotating EU presidency, President of the European Commission Manuel
Barroso, and EU Council Secretary-General Javier Solana attended
the summit.
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During the meeting, several agreements were signed, in a bid to
facilitate their all-round strategic partnership in the fields of
maritime projects, environment protection, space development and
the renovation of the Beijing Capital International Airport.
A joint statement on the summit was also released, as was a
Joint Declaration on Climate Change.
In addition, a deal was signed that should resolve the problem
of millions of China-made textiles stockpiled at EU ports.
The year 2005 is the 30th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic ties between China and the EU.
Wang Li, a researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary
International Relations, wrote an article September 6 commenting on
the summit and on Sino-EU relations in general. The following are
the main extracts of Wang's commentary.
A review of maturing China-EU relations
"The development of China-EU relations can be seen in the total
volume of trade between the two sides. When China-EU diplomatic
relations were first established in 1975, the total volume of trade
was only US$2.4 billion. In 2004, trade was valued at US$177.3
billion, accounting for 15.4 percent of China's total trade
volume.
The EU is the fourth largest source of foreign direct investment
(FDI) in China, and the largest source of cumulative technology
introduction. A rational solution of trade disputes is therefore
vitally important to the further development of bilateral economic
and trading relations.
But the Sino-European relationship is not limited to economics
and trade.
At the Sixth Sino-EU Summit in October 2003 when the
establishment of an all-round strategic partnership was announced,
relations transcended the non-existent cornerstone of geopolitical
conflict and regional strategic threat, and so began the process of
seeking strategic common points of shouldering greater
international responsibility and playing more active roles.
In recent years, the two sides have maintained high-level
exchanges and communication on major international and regional
issues. China has also established mechanisms of strategic security
consultation with some EU member states.
Strategic partners
Trade disputes between China and the EU should be resolved
dispassionately.
As China-EU trade relations expand, economic disputes have
increased in recent years. From early this year, disputes arose in
relation to Chinese textiles and garments exports.
Although China and the EU managed to avoid an all-out textiles
trade war through compromise and cooperation, trade disputes will
keep emerging for various reasons, in particular feelings of
protectionism by some EU member countries. Therefore, the two sides
should consider establishing an early warning mechanism and
continue to pursue the pragmatic and dialogic position in settling
bilateral disputes.
Therefore, dialogue and exchanges between the two sides remain
to be strengthened. Increase of all-round exchanges, particularly
between the media and the general public, will help reduce
misunderstandings and differences, and enhance knowledge and
understanding. It is only in this way that the all-round strategic
partnership built on common interests and mutual trust can be
elevated to a higher level.
Pragmatism is also key when handling relations between China,
the EU and the US. The degree of economic dependence is high in
this tripartite relationship. Any imbalance in one could have an
impact on the other.
Of course, it is also important that China develops ties with
individual EU countries.
It is plain to see that each EU country plays a role in the
decision on lifting the arms embargo on China and the Sino-EU
textile dispute. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson himself
pointed out that the collective worry of a group of Europeans about
China's development promotes the trade protectionism fever that is
spreading in Europe.
China should therefore learn to strike a balance between the EU
and its members. There is also much to be learned from the
experiences of developing relations with France, Germany and the
UK.
(China.org.cn by Wang Ke and Wu Nanlan, September 9, 2005)