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Roundup: EU-China Relations Gain Momentum
The fourth summit meeting between the European Union (EU) and China is due to be held in Brussels Wednesday at a time when China is ready to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the EU has set its new strategy to further strengthen relations with Asian countries.
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji will be, for the fourth time, attending the EU-China summit after the London summit in 1998, and Beijing summits in 1999 and 2000. The talks between EU and Chinese leaders are expected to center on closer ties in broader areas at the Brussels summit.
Now, things in China are different from those at the time when previous summits were held as the process of China's entry into the WTO is close to fulfillment, which means China will become an equal trading partner with the EU's 15 member states in the near future.
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, whose country holds the current EU presidency, has said the EU would do its utmost to ensure the success of the Brussels summit. He believes the balance of world geopolitics has to be improved because the United States is only "one leg of the geopolitical table." The EU will aim to stabilize this "geopolitical table" through stimulating closer relations between the EU and China, Michel said, adding that consolidating their existing dialogue would be conducive to the whole world.
In its new strategy report for EU-Asian relations published Tuesday, the 15-nation bloc said strengthening ties with China will be a major opportunity and a challenge for the EU in the coming years.
"China is already becoming a major competitor to developed economies in the region and beyond, and WTO accession will certainly bring a further increase in economic efficiency and competitiveness," said the report "Europe and Asia: A Strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnerships."
The EU also said it is in its interests to ensure that China plays a constructive and cooperative role both in the region and in the world.
Since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the European bloc has seen the chance to realize its dream of a wider Europe. It also needs to develop ties with China in order to shape a multi- polar world. In 1995, the EU set out its long-term strategy for EU- China relations in its policy document "A Long Term Policy for China-Europe Relations."
In 1998, the European Commission, the EU's acting arm, adopted another policy document -- "Building a Comprehensive Partnership with China," which draws up recommendations aimed at upgrading the EU's relationship with China.
On May 16, 2001, the commission adopted its third policy document to fine-tune its strategy towards China. The EU said China's rapid economic development in the past 20 years has had a significant impact on EU-China trade relations. According to data issued by the European Commission, total two-way trade between the EU and China has increased more than 20-fold since reforms began in China in 1978.
Twenty-six years have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the then European Community and China, and the two powers are gaining momentum to develop ties for a better balanced world. The Brussels summit is certain to be an essential milestone in the process of getting nearer to each other.
At least, the EU's next enlargement in a decade ahead will alter the European landscape, expanding the union both in size and population. That means, as EU external relation Commissioner Christopher Patten said, a bigger market for Chinese products and a bigger source of investment. Not only in trade, good news for Sino-European cooperation is expected in all other fields.
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