Sino-EU partnership touches new high
The partnership between China and the EU is becoming increasingly intense and interdependent.
Serge Andre Abou, Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Commission to China, told China Daily in an exclusive interview that 15 EU commissioners are expected to visit China this year, apart from parliament-level leaders.
The ambassador said embassy officials have been very busy in recent times, receiving EU leaders of ministerial level and higher, as well as members of numerous business chambers and agencies almost every day.
One of the recent visits was Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information, Society and Media in April, who will provide patronage to ChinICT 2007 an IT gala to be held this month.
Former Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing (right), EU Ambassador to China Serge Andre Abou (center) and EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner share a light moment during her visit to China in January. Wu Zhiyi |
China and the EU are currently conducting landmark negotiations on Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA), a historical upgrade and revision of the 1985 Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement.
The talks began during EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner's visit to China this January, and are steadily continuing.
The talks have attracted global attention, with everyone being very interested in the progress of the discussions over the past four months. "It is not a simple 'give' and 'take', so we have to take time," said Abou.
He said the two sides have already held discussions on security and foreign policy, and talks on wider issues such as energy, education, consumer protection, finance, science and the environment will be held in the near future.
"It is a common judgment of Sino-EU authorities and leadership that our relationship today has become more intense and wider in scope, so the 1985 agreement doesn't correspond any more with today's situation," he said, pointing out that the comprehensive framework of the negotiations covers 22 sectors.
After the past 20-odd years, China has become the largest supplier of the EU, while the EU has become China's largest trading partner. The increase in bilateral trade has been dramatic, up 20 to 25 percent per year.
"The level of our partnership is becoming more and more intense and the ongoing negotiations will help encourage and foster better cooperation for the next 20 years," said Abou, noting that the 1985 agreement was prepared as early as the 1970s.
"Through the agreements, we need to give our administration, industry and citizens the right signals about our cooperation with China in the next 20 years," the ambassador explained.
"It is a reflection of the future," he said, stressing the importance of the negotiations. "The new agreement will not only indicate what level our partnership will reach, but also what kind of example we will set for the international community."
The two sides are now trying to define "concepts" and drafting the agreement article by article. The ambassador said the negotiations were like "a marriage and should fix concrete conditions."
The core areas where Sino-EU cooperation will be significantly strengthened in the next few years are energy conservation and climate change.
EU Commission sources said that the EU is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emission by at least 20 percent by 2020, through energy measures in particular. It has also revealed the ambitious target of ensuring that 20 percent of its energy supply comes from renewable energy sources.
Besides, 75 percent of the EU's new energy investments will focus on the renewable. "Like the EU, China also has a strong demand to meet its energy-saving objectives, the EU and China now have been devoted to plenty of such projects in these areas, working steadily to address priorities," said Abou.
As the EU maintains high-standards and efficient technologies in construction, transport and industry, the ambassador hopes to team up with several Chinese ministries, such as the State Environmental Protection Administration and the National Development and Reform Commission, to set up an EU clean energy technology center in China.
Regarding the current trade and investment imbalance, in which China's exports to the EU far outweigh its imports and EU companies' investment in China far outstrips China's investment in EU, the ambassador hoped China will open its markets wider for EU companies.
In Junary 2007, Germany assumed the EU presidency. The German Embassay and German Chamber of Commerce in China have launched a project called "We are a Chinese company, too", aiming to become more involved in the Chinese market.
The ambassador said he also expects Chinese companies to become more familiar with EU investment policies and begin to invest in the EU " a good land with same regulation from east to west, from south to north and an engine of growth."
Regarding the trade issue involving EU's constant raising of environmental protection and safety standards for electronic products and home appliances, which are perceived as trade barriers against China, Abou said he feels many Chinese companies have now improved their standards and some of them have "adapted the new policies better than EU companies."
During EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner's visit in January, former Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing specially reiterated China's stance that the EU arms embargo be lifted and the nation recognized as a market economy.
Abou said the EU has not reached a unanimous decision on the arms embargo issue.
As for market economy, the ambassador noted that China has made great progress in this area.
(China Daily 05/09/2007 page18)
