Foreign and Military Affairs
Focus on 'ties with key EU members'
By Zhang Jin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-13 09:05
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Wait for complete integration before dealing with bloc: Analysts
"Who do I call if I want to call Europe?"
Indeed, this well-known poser by former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger has been answered so many times.
This time, however, the answer is bound to be not so straightforward: the EU's phone book is getting larger.
Apart from the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who is the chief of the European Union (EU)'s executive arm, at least two more people are on the list - EU's first president Herman Van Rompuy and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose country is holding the EU's rotating presidency.
Despite the multiple channels of communication, experts have advised Beijing to focus on bilateral relations with each of the major European powers. They say China must adopt this strategy until the bloc is completely integrated.
The three-pronged parallel structure was a result of the landmark Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on Dec 1. As per the treaty, which aims to enhance the EU's ability to speak in one voice, the powerful bloc has also selected Catherine Ashton as its high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
"Basically, the EU structure has not changed," Ding Chun, director of the European Research Center at the Shanghai-based Fudan University, told China Daily.
"There is no urgent need for China to adjust its strategy toward the EU," he said.
Some analysts believe the EU structure has become more complicated.
Indeed, Chinese leaders may wonder whom they should first shake hands with at the year-end China-EU Summit.
Barroso will head a team of commissioners to China in the spring, while Ashton said days ago she hopes to visit China "soon", Fingleton said.
Roger Zhang, a researcher at the Shanghai-based CEIBS Lujiazui Finance Research Center, said the world's most powerful regional body is now struggling to streamline its structure.
"The selection of Van Rompuy, the former Belgian prime minister, appears to be a balancing act among the EU's major powerhouses, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany," he said.
Madrid's six-month reign is a test of the three-pronged system, he said.
"At the moment, we have no idea who decides what," Zhang said. "We have to wait to see who represents the EU."
Before the situation gets clearer, however, China should push forward its ties with major EU members, analysts said.
"No matter how integrated the bloc is, the axis of the EU still lies with major European nations," said Shi Zhan, a researcher at the Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University.
Feng Zhongping, the director of the Institute of European Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said economic partnership is the single most important bond between China and the EU.
China is the EU's second largest trading partner and the fastest-growing export market. The EU is China's largest trading partner.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi vowed to promote a comprehensive and cooperative relationship with the EU.
In a phone conversation with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos, Yang said the two sides should collaborate on issues such as the financial crisis and climate change.
Zhang Haizhou contributed to the story
