| Pub. Date | : Jan, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of International Relations |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJIR30120 |
| Author Name | : Rafael Leal-Arcas |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 21 |
This EUCROSS working paper analyzes European Union-China trade relations in the context of the current negotiations for a new comprehensive framework agreement between the European Union (EU) and the People’s Republic of China. China is a strong economic power with increasingly sophisticated production in its coastal regions and is attempting to establish itself as a gravity center by concluding many bilateral free-trade agreements in the region. Although China has a stronghold in the Far East, there may be specific policy areas in which China’s influence ends up being global. The paper concludes that dealing with China was one of the main arguments in favor of ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon because it provides for a permanent president of the European Council and a single foreign affairs post for the entire EU, which facilitates the EU’s coherence in its external affairs. Moreover, the paper concludes that the European Commission should negotiate the prospective Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and China more constructively, without patronizing, and instead accept China as an equal player in the current multipolar framework of global economic governance.
The European Union-China relationship is one of the most important and least understood relationships in the world today. The previously existing cooperation between the Chinese and the Europeans has now been replaced by competition, with the emergence of new issues such as China’s role in Africa, where China's unconditional aid policy in Africa has infuriated many European Union (EU) countries which consider Chinese intervention counterproductive to Europe’s efforts to promote human rights, good governance, and environmental health in Africa. Mutual understanding is a prerequisite for mutual trust. Therefore, this paper aims at understanding the potential of a trade partnership between the EU and China. As will be analyzed henceforth, there are many difficulties and differences between the EU and China in the trade field, some of which raise serious concerns for the EU.