Path to future

Added role

But all the experts do agree that China will start playing an important role in global affairs over the next decade and hence its responses to the changes in domestic and international economic environments will be watched with keen anticipation.

From a domestic perspective the new leadership will need to contend more with the challenges confronting the domestic economy, addressing social concerns such as healthcare, education and corruption, and tackling pressing environmental issues, Phillips says, adding that this would mean continued reforms on a number of fronts.

Pierre Picquart, a professor of geopolitics at the University of Paris, feels that the new Chinese leaders must accelerate economic restructuring and reforms to sustain growth.

"The new leadership needs to be pragmatic and creative in order to better facilitate the trend that China is transforming from a world factory to a world laboratory," Picquart says.

"It is important, especially for the new leadership to ensure that migrant workers are given real urban resident rights so that they gain more self-confidence and contribute to boosting consumption," O'Neill says.

"The stimulation of domestic consumption is basically a matter of closing the rural-urban gap, and building better social security measures so that citizens and farmers save less and spend more," Ho says.

"China's new leaders will need to grapple with a continued challenging overall economic environment and the tensions this may bring to trade and investment relationships as the global economy continues to adjust and rebalance," Phillips says.

According to Merritt, the biggest challenge for the new leadership in China is to change the old mindset and work out the bigger role in the global arena. It will also be important for the new leadership to ensure global stability and mitigate territorial disputes with neighbors.

According to Forsby, the new leadership will have to strike a fine balance to maintain China's unique identity of not being too swayed by Western norms and values. At the same time, steps would also be needed to enhance China's role in the global arena as a peaceful stakeholder.

Since the EU is not directly involved in the strategic game of rivalry currently taking place in Southeast Asia, Forsby believes that the EU and China have better chances of forging long-term strategic relationships.

Nicola Casarini, research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, believes that the main objective of the new government would be to ensure a tranquil regional environment.

"China needs to protect its territory but also avoid regional friction and show that it is a responsible power," Picquart says.

Paul Rubig, member of the European Parliament and president of the SME-Global, International Democrat Union in Brussels, says that the commitment by the new Chinese leaders to further improve the overall quality of life would not only be a significant achievement but a step that would firmly unite the nation. However, the new leadership will have to take steps to further improve and strengthen the public health mechanism by utilizing innovation and tweaking the education system.

Changing perceptions

Most of the experts feel that while there would be no major change in Sino-Europe relations, including economic and political relations, there would be a sea change in how Europe perceives and deals with China.

Though most of the European leaders are keen on forging ahead, they also need to be more aware about China and its new leadership.

From a political perspective, forums like the China-EU Partnership on Urbanization are good examples of mutually beneficial cooperation that China needs to tackle the sustainable growth challenges, says Dirk Vantyghem, director of International Affairs at EUROCHAMBRES, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

"The speed and scale of China's urban development is unprecedented and managing the challenges of urbanization is a key task for both China and the world. The new political initiatives should constitute a platform for an inclusive cooperation involving all stakeholders, in particular the private sector, to generate new opportunities and boost growth, jobs," he says.

Yao Shujie, head of the school of contemporary Chinese studies at Nottingham University in the United Kingdom, says China and Europe have developed a close economic relationship and technological cooperation.

The EU has been China's largest trading partner for many years, while China is the EU's second-largest trade partner after the United States.

Picquart feels that both sides will foster strong ties as Europe will continue to seek policy independence from the Anglo-Saxon camp, while China will continue to see Europe as a valuable trade and investment partner.

Pierre Defraigne, executive director of the Brussels-based think tank Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation, says good relations between China and Europe are absolutely crucial, "because trade and investment ties help each other's growth efforts".

"This means that both sides should have a more open market approach and refrain from adopting any discriminatory practices," Defraigne says.

However, Yao feels that there are still some stumbling blocks like the market economy status and trade restrictions.

Ho, on the other hand feels it is important for the EU to end the arms embargo as it fails to do justice to the economic growth achieved by China. The real test for future relations between the two sides will come from how Europe reacts to sensitive subjects like the Diaoyu Island dispute, he says.

Also on the political agenda, is the upgrading of the current 1985 EU-China Trade and Cooperation Agreement to a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, Ho says, adding that negotiations have been underway for over five years.

When it comes to the reasons, Ho says that within the EU there is still a lack of information and knowledge about China and there is still a certain degree of trepidation and fear about China's emergence, and what that might mean geo-politically and military-strategically.

Ho stressed, "Much work still needs to be done to mobilize the existing China-related knowledge and expertise within the EU, and feed it also into the political process, for example, the European Parliament and the European Council."

Rubig feels that the stronger partnership between Europe and China will create opportunities to further increase trade between the two sides. In this regard it is important for both China and Europe to avoid being dragged into trade disputes, especially in the energy sector as the overall goal of both nations is to reduce dependence on costly fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions.

Besides, it is also important for China to finalize the Doha Agenda on climate change, as it will create meaningful market alternatives for both sides. "China and Europe share the same interests and this common interest is big enough to drive the Doha Agenda," he says.

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