China and the EU should build on strategic partnership
By Jing Men |
China Watch |
Updated: 2018-07-11 13:42
Editor's Note: This article is part of Preview Policy Report for the 2018 China-EU Summit, which will be jointly published by China Watch Institute — the new think tank platform powered by China Daily — and Bruges-based EU-China Research Centre of the College of Europe.
When talking about the China-EU strategic partnership, we may think of their common interests in maintaining global peace and stability, in realizing sustainable development goals and in tacking challenges in climate change, and that they regard each other as an indispensable player in global governance. Particularly now, China and the EU need to work together to protect the World Trade Organization, the rule-based multilateral organization which may be killed off by the Trump administration. The EU and China are both crucial players in international affairs and their collaboration not only fulfils their own interests but also benefits the international community.
The label of “strategic partnership” is, nevertheless, questioned by some analysts as who see it as “elusive”. The China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership dates back to 2003, when bilateral relations were at their historical best. Some observers believe that Brussels and Beijing were in a honeymoon period around that time. However, a honeymoon is always short and when it is over, one needs to get back to reality. As a matter of fact, the nature of the China-EU partnership has been complicated, particularly in recent years, and coopetition has become the "new normal" (using the Chinese term) of the bilateral relationship.
The fact that China and the EU are so different -- from political systems to economic development models, from history to culture -- often results in differences in policymaking and difficulties in mutual understanding. Since 2016, which marked the publication of the EU policy toward China, “Elements for a new EU strategy on China”, the EU’s engagement with China has become “principled, practical and pragmatic, staying true to its interests and values”. In other words, we could say that in the past, the EU attached more importance to the issue of norms and values and made more compromises with China in the field of economics and trade which had a strategic importance to the EU’s growth and employment. Now, the EU has integrated values into its economy and trade policies and is prepared to compete with China by adopting new rules against what is deemed unfair trade practices and setting up a framework for screening foreign direct investments to protect its own interests.
Yet, if one wants to deny the strategic partnership between the two sides, it is not true, either. It is fair to say that in the three pillars of China-EU institutional arrangements, the first is political dialogue, and the third, people-to-people exchanges, are indeed less comprehensively developed. In comparison, the second pillar, which contributes to the economic and trade partnership, is extensively and intensively constructed, which reflects the closely interdependent relationship between China and the EU. There is no doubt that the economic and trade relationship serves as the cornerstone of the partnership. Currently, the EU is China’s largest trading partner and China the second largest trading partner of the EU. Their trade volume exceeds 1 billion euros per day. They are so closely related that both sides understand the importance of maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship. In that sense, China and the EU are strategic partners. In a nutshell, China and the EU have different levels of partnership, in which the economic and trade relationship has a strategic nature, but the partnership in other fields is shallow.
Bringing China and the EU closer and strengthening their strategic partnership is not an easy matter. In past 15 years they have had a strategic partnership, more than 60 dialogues at different levels and covering a wide range of issues have been set up. Despite regular exchanges and meetings between the two sides, the bilateral relationship has not become closer . On the contrary, in recent years, competition in economics and trade is getting more intense. China’s rise challenges Francis Fukuyama’s "end of history" and obliges the Western world in general to reconsider the credibility of a global liberal order. Against this background of international structural changes, China and the EU are in a period of readjustment. For Europeans, China’s rise poses a formidable challenge and will take time for the EU to understand its impact and find solutions.
The good news is that both sides understand the importance of cooperation in each other’s domestic and external affairs. China cannot fully realize its development objectives without the support of the EU, and vice versa. Therefore, despite differences and difficulties, they need to work together.
First, they need to strengthen their dialogue mechanism, which should not only emphasize the extensity of topics but also pay attention to the quality of the dialogue and provide evaluation of the dialogue. Second, both sides should train more experts on EU-China relations, who not only understand the languages, but also the local culture, history, political and social environment, and who can effectively facilitate bilateral exchanges and communication. Third, more initiatives should be taken to enhance contacts at the grassroots level so as to noticeably expand people-to-people dialogue across all social groups. Fourth, the European Parliament and the Chinese National People’s Congress should play a bigger role in organizing seminars, workshops and events to increase direct communication and exchanges. Furthermore, since the EU regards the US and China as the two most important players in the world, the European Parliament should consider setting up an office in Beijing, as it has done in Washington.
Jing MEN is the Baillet Latour Chair of European Union-China Relations and the Director of EU-China Research Centre in the Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, College of Europe. The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.
All rights reserved. Copying or sharing of any content for other than personal use is prohibited without prior written permission.
Editor's Note: This article is part of Preview Policy Report for the 2018 China-EU Summit, which will be jointly published by China Watch Institute — the new think tank platform powered by China Daily — and Bruges-based EU-China Research Centre of the College of Europe.
When talking about the China-EU strategic partnership, we may think of their common interests in maintaining global peace and stability, in realizing sustainable development goals and in tacking challenges in climate change, and that they regard each other as an indispensable player in global governance. Particularly now, China and the EU need to work together to protect the World Trade Organization, the rule-based multilateral organization which may be killed off by the Trump administration. The EU and China are both crucial players in international affairs and their collaboration not only fulfils their own interests but also benefits the international community.
The label of “strategic partnership” is, nevertheless, questioned by some analysts as who see it as “elusive”. The China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership dates back to 2003, when bilateral relations were at their historical best. Some observers believe that Brussels and Beijing were in a honeymoon period around that time. However, a honeymoon is always short and when it is over, one needs to get back to reality. As a matter of fact, the nature of the China-EU partnership has been complicated, particularly in recent years, and coopetition has become the "new normal" (using the Chinese term) of the bilateral relationship.
The fact that China and the EU are so different -- from political systems to economic development models, from history to culture -- often results in differences in policymaking and difficulties in mutual understanding. Since 2016, which marked the publication of the EU policy toward China, “Elements for a new EU strategy on China”, the EU’s engagement with China has become “principled, practical and pragmatic, staying true to its interests and values”. In other words, we could say that in the past, the EU attached more importance to the issue of norms and values and made more compromises with China in the field of economics and trade which had a strategic importance to the EU’s growth and employment. Now, the EU has integrated values into its economy and trade policies and is prepared to compete with China by adopting new rules against what is deemed unfair trade practices and setting up a framework for screening foreign direct investments to protect its own interests.
Yet, if one wants to deny the strategic partnership between the two sides, it is not true, either. It is fair to say that in the three pillars of China-EU institutional arrangements, the first is political dialogue, and the third, people-to-people exchanges, are indeed less comprehensively developed. In comparison, the second pillar, which contributes to the economic and trade partnership, is extensively and intensively constructed, which reflects the closely interdependent relationship between China and the EU. There is no doubt that the economic and trade relationship serves as the cornerstone of the partnership. Currently, the EU is China’s largest trading partner and China the second largest trading partner of the EU. Their trade volume exceeds 1 billion euros per day. They are so closely related that both sides understand the importance of maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship. In that sense, China and the EU are strategic partners. In a nutshell, China and the EU have different levels of partnership, in which the economic and trade relationship has a strategic nature, but the partnership in other fields is shallow.
Bringing China and the EU closer and strengthening their strategic partnership is not an easy matter. In past 15 years they have had a strategic partnership, more than 60 dialogues at different levels and covering a wide range of issues have been set up. Despite regular exchanges and meetings between the two sides, the bilateral relationship has not become closer . On the contrary, in recent years, competition in economics and trade is getting more intense. China’s rise challenges Francis Fukuyama’s "end of history" and obliges the Western world in general to reconsider the credibility of a global liberal order. Against this background of international structural changes, China and the EU are in a period of readjustment. For Europeans, China’s rise poses a formidable challenge and will take time for the EU to understand its impact and find solutions.
The good news is that both sides understand the importance of cooperation in each other’s domestic and external affairs. China cannot fully realize its development objectives without the support of the EU, and vice versa. Therefore, despite differences and difficulties, they need to work together.
First, they need to strengthen their dialogue mechanism, which should not only emphasize the extensity of topics but also pay attention to the quality of the dialogue and provide evaluation of the dialogue. Second, both sides should train more experts on EU-China relations, who not only understand the languages, but also the local culture, history, political and social environment, and who can effectively facilitate bilateral exchanges and communication. Third, more initiatives should be taken to enhance contacts at the grassroots level so as to noticeably expand people-to-people dialogue across all social groups. Fourth, the European Parliament and the Chinese National People’s Congress should play a bigger role in organizing seminars, workshops and events to increase direct communication and exchanges. Furthermore, since the EU regards the US and China as the two most important players in the world, the European Parliament should consider setting up an office in Beijing, as it has done in Washington.
Jing MEN is the Baillet Latour Chair of European Union-China Relations and the Director of EU-China Research Centre in the Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, College of Europe. The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.
All rights reserved. Copying or sharing of any content for other than personal use is prohibited without prior written permission.
