What Is the Real Position of the EU in China’s Strategy? （Liu Zuokui）

Started with one article on “How China Sees the World” published in the March 2009 Economist, a number of European media and thinktanks asserted that the EU’s position in China’s strategy began to decline. Although no such views have been expressed officially by the EU, the influences of the media cannot be neglected in view of its impacts upon agenda setting in the western countries, which may in turn have deep-going influences on Europe-China relationships in the context of global financial crisis and the previous disputes between the two parties.

On the Chinese side, most of the people hold a positive view towards Europe, although they have realized the differences between the two parties. Their vision towards the EU and EU-China relations can be summarized as the following. First, the EU is one of the most important forces in safeguarding world peace and the largest economy in the world. A good relationship between the EU and China is in the common interest and mutually beneficial, which will contribute to the peace and stability of the world, democratization of international relations and the multipolirization process. Second, China has always been taking an active and positive attitude in approaching the disputes between the two sides and attaching great attention to the roles of Europe. Third. China always treats the conflicts between the two sides from the objective facts and has envisaged and prepared for the complexities that may take place in bilateral relations in the medium and long term. Last, the Chinese government has been exerting itself to direct the Chinese media’s report on the bilateral relations in a positive and constructive way and supports all sorts of non-governmental exchanges beneficial to the mutual understanding towards each other.

It is commonly recognized by the Chinese and European academics that too grave conflicts will not break out between the two sides, due to the fact that neither side has enough military strength to touch upon the core interest area of the other side, and that both focus their priorities on their neighbouring regions. To China, who is seeking a peaceful external environment, Europe is a normative power indispensable for maintaining peace. However, each coin has two sides. It is just the geographical distance between the two parties that determines it is almost impossible for them to form an interest community, and that the strategic partnership, being soft in nature, bears no binding effect. The conflicts between the two parties can thus be attributed partly to their differences in social system, ideology and values, which, in a long term, might lead to the possibility of seeing each other as “the other”. With a view to avoiding such situations, several lessons can be learnt from the European media’s argument that Europe has lost its position in China’s strategy.

Firstly, we must attach great importance to the media’s influences on agenda setting, which may exaggerate the disputes between the two sides. Secondly, a crisis management mechanism should be set up to deal appropriately with emergencies in China-Europe relationships. Thirdly, both sides should be aware of the core concerns of the other side and of the shortcomings in their own institutions, structures or policies. And fourthly, both sides should form an accurate judgment about the other’s future development goals, in order to avoid the strategic misunderstanding towards the other.