European Union
I. Brief Introduction to the European Union
A. Background
On May 9 1950, Foreign Minister Robert Schuman of France proposed that France and Germany establish a steel and coal community, which is historically called "Schuman's Declaration". In July 1952, the European Community of Steel and Coal (ECSC) was officially established with France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg as its members. In January 1958, the above-mentioned six countries set up the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. In July 1967, the three communities merged into one European Community. In November 1993, the Treaty on European Union (also called Maastricht Treaty) entered into force and the European Community evolved into the European Union.
The EU now has 15 member states, namely, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg (the founding states), the UK, Denmark, Ireland (accession in 1973), Greece (accession in 1981), Spain, Portugal (accession in 1986), Austria, Finland and Sweden (accession in 1995). The EU covers an area of 3.337 million square kilometers and a population of 370 million. Brussels is EU' s headquarter. The EU flag is twelve golden stars to form a circle against the background of blue sky, and the EU anthem is the music from L' Ode de Joie of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The Europe Day, also called the Schuman Day, is on the 9th of May.
The fundamental structure of EU is as follows:
1. The Council, a main decision-making body, consists of two parts: the European Council (also called the Summit for Heads of State or Government) and the European Union Council (namely, Council Of Ministers). The European Council is responsible for making major policy decisions and meets regularly every six months. Additional Summit meetings may be held where circumstances so require. The European Union Council is responsible for handling the routine policy issues, and has the majority of legislative power for the European Union. The Presidency of the Council rotates among the member governments at six-monthly intervals, which operates in the way of the so-called "Three Wagons", that is, the incumbent state, the succeeding one, and the representative for EU organizations can represent the EU on the world arena. The presiding states of the EU for the first half and second half of the year 2000 are Portugal and France respectively.
2. The European Commission, EU's permanent executive organization, is responsible for implementing the EU treaties and decisions made by the Council, reporting to the Council and the European Parliament, filing legislative motions, handling EU's routine business, external liaison and conducting economic and trade negotiations in EU's name. The present European Commission, led by former Prime Minister Prodi of Italy, officially swore in on September 15 1999.
3. The European Parliament is a supervising and consultative organization and has limited legislative power. The incumbent Speaker is Ms. Nicole Fountaine (French).
In addition, the EU has the Court of Justice (an arbitration organization), the Court of Auditors and the Economic & Social Committee (a consultative organization), etc.
B. Economic and Internal Construction of the EU
The GNP of EU's fifteen member countries in 1998 amounted to US $8.8 trillion and the total trade volume between EU countries and other regions of that year was nearly US $1.8 trillion, both exceeding those of the United States and Japan. The EU economy began to recover in 1994 followed by a new phase of economic growth. It grew at 2.6% in 1997, 2.8% in 1998, and 2 % in 1999. However, the EU has outstanding structural problems in its economy, such as high unemployment, high tax, and excessive debt. In 1998, the average unemployment rate in the EU was 9.4%, with the unemployed equaled to 15 million.
Through efforts in several decades, the EU has now established the Tariff & Duty Alliance, the European Monetary Union, and the General Budget System. It has carried out common policies for foreign trade, agriculture and fishery. The Common Market was initiated in January 1993, substantially making merchandise, human resources, capital and services flow freely within the Community. On March 26 1995, the Schengen Agreement, which aimed to eliminate border control and inspection among them for a variety of personnel, came into force among France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain. Greece, Italy and Austria later joined in the Agreement. Sweden, Finland and Denmark have signed the Agreement, however, the Agreement is not legally binding among the three countries yet. The UK and Ireland haven't signed the Agreement out of domestic reasons. In October 1997, the EU's fifteen member countries signed the Amsterdam Treaty, signaling progress in enhancing internal law enforcement as well as the common policy on defense and foreign affairs. The Schengen Agreement has been included into the Amsterdam Treaty. On May 1 1999, the Amsterdam Treaty officially came into force. In June 1999, during the European Council meeting in Cologne of Germany, former Spanish Foreign Secretary and NATO Secretary General Javier Solana was appointed high-ranking representative of the EU Council for Common Defense & Foreign Policy. On January 1 1999, the Euro was put into the market as scheduled. The eleven EU countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain became the first group states for the Euro to circulate. On January 1of 2002, the Euro will begin to flow in cash and on March 1 of that year, the Euro will replace the currencies of all eleven countries and become the sole common currency in the Euroland. As non-Euro EU member countries, the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Greece are now actively edging close to the Euroland. Greece formally applied for the Euro membership in March 2000 and Denmark will hold a referendum in September 2000 to decide whether to join the Euroland. In March 1998, the EU held talks with its first candidate countries-Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus on their accession to the EU. In February 2000, the EU held talks with Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta on their accession to the EU, and confirmed Turkey's candidacy for EU membership on condition. All these are efforts to accomplish EU's first expansion eastward in 2003.
C. The EU's Foreign Relations
The EU has established relations and signed agreements of trade, economic cooperation or partnership with a majority of countries and regions in the world. Up to now, there are 165 countries that have sent diplomatic missions to the EU; likewise, the European Commission has sent its missions to 126 countries and the places hosting international organizations. During the recent years, the EU has been expanding its all-round diplomacy actively. For example, it has adjusted its relations with the United States and Japan, enhanced cooperation with Russia, prepared actively to absorb the Middle and Eastern European countries into the EU, and strengthened relations with the Confederation of the Independent States. The EU plans to establish the Europe-Mediterranean Free Trade Zone in 2010 with the 12 Mediterranean countries. The EU attaches great importance to developing its relations with countries in Asia and Latin America. In 1994, the EU designed The New Strategy towards Asia, and 1996 and 1998 saw the first and second Euro-Asia Summits convened respectively in Bangkok and London. The third summit is scheduled in Seoul in October 2000. In June 1999, the EU convened the first Euro-Latino Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and it plans to hold the second meeting in Spain in 2002.
II. China's Relations with the European Union
A. Review of Bilateral Political Relations
China and the European Community reached agreements on the establishment of official relations on 6 May 1975 and on 1 November 1983, China established official relations with the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. By then, China had realized the comprehensive normalization of relations with the European Community. The mission of the European Community to China was established in May 1988.
During the recent years, relations between China and the EU and its member states have developed smoothly and both sides have maintained frequent contacts and exchange visits. President Jiang Zemin, Chairman Li Peng of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Premier Zhu Rongji and Chairman Li Ruihan of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have visited the majority of the EU member states. Leaders of many EU states and of the European Council have also visited China. In 1999, President Jiang Zemin twice visited Western Europe and successfully concluded his visit to five EU countries including Italy, the UK and France. Premier Li Peng has visited Greece. State leaders of the Netherlands, Germany and Finland have visited China. On December 19 of 1999, the EU representitive, Finnish President Ahtisaari, attended the ceremony marking the return of Macao to China, together with Vice-president Marinho of the European Parliament and Chris Pattern, the European Commissioner for external affairs. In February 2000, Vice Premier Wu Bangguo visited the EU headquarter and exchanged views with the EU side on broadening cooperation between China and the EU in a variety of fields.
On April 2 1998, the First China-EU Summit Meeting was held in London whereby Premier Zhu Rongji met with Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom, the then EU Presidency, and President Jacques Santer of the European Commission. They issued a joint statement that laid out their consensus on establishing a 21st-century-oriented and constructive China-Europe partnership of long-term stability and institutionalized the annual China-EU summit mechanism. On December 21of 1999, the second China-EU Summit Meeting was held in Beijing whereby Premier Zhu Rongji met with Prime Minister Lipponen of Finland, the then EU Presidency, and President Romano Prodi of the European Commission. Both sides reiterated that they would continue to further develop the constructive China-Europe partnership of long-term stability in the new century and to deepen and broaden cooperation between China and the EU in all areas to the benefit of both sides.
Since China and the EU established the mechanism of political consultations and dialogues in 1994, cooperation between the two has been carried out smoothly. On February 8 of 1999, the Seventh China-EU Human Rights Dialogue was held in Bonn. On March 29, during the second Asia-Europe Foreign Minister Meeting in Berlin, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan met with Foreign Ministers of the "Three Wagons" and exchanged views with them on China-EU relations, trade, human rights and issues of common concern. At the end of May, the Third China-EU Judicial Seminar was held in Bad Honnef of Germany. From September 7 to September 9 of the same year, the second China-EU Seminar on Women's Issues was held in Rovaniemi of Finland. On October 18, the sixth China-EU expert meeting at department levels on political consultations was held in Beijing. On October 19, the Eighth China-EU Human Rights Dialogue was held in Beijing. In February 2000, the Ninth China-EU Human Rights Dialogue was held in Lisbon of Portugal.
During the recent years, the EU has adjusted its China policies actively. In December 1995, the EU passed the Long Term Policy for Europe-China Relations. In November 1996, the European Commission put forward the EU's New Strategy Towards China. On June 29 of 1998, the European Council of Foreign Minister reviewed and passed a new policy document towards China called Building a Comprehensive Partnership with China, which upgrades EU's relations with China to an important level equal to EU's relations with the United States, Japan and Russia. It calls for the strengthening of political dialogues, exchanges and cooperation between EU and China in economy and trade, and supports China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). On the issue of human rights, the EU has decided not to propose or so-sponsor draft resolutions against China for two years consecutively.
B. China-EU Economic and Trade Relations and cooperation between China and the EU in economy, science & technology, and education etc.
China-EU economic cooperation and trade have been developing rapidly as China deepens its reform and opening-up, and China's economy continues to grow. In 1985, China and the European Community signed the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, and decided that the China-EU Joint Economic and Trade Committee will meet at ministerial levels at irregular intervals. During the recent years, the cooperation between China and the EU has been further developed in areas such as economy & trade, science & technology, energy, etc. Agreements signed by both sides include: Minutes of Talks between China and the EU on Industrial Cooperation, The Memorandum of Understanding on Industrial Cooperation in Aviation and Telecommunication, the Agreement of Cooperation between China and the EU in Automobile Industry, Cooperation Project on Environmental Management, Agricultural cooperation project on the development of Bainang in Tibet, Professional training project between China and the EU, Memorandum of Understanding on Industrial Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the European Commission in the areas of aviation and communication, agreement on technology cooperation, Fundamental education project in Gansu Province of China, etc. During the third China-EU conference on energy cooperation from March 4 to March 5 of 1999, China and the EU signed the joint statement on strengthening cooperation in the energy field.
The EU has amended some parts of its anti-dumping regulations during the recent years. On April 27 of 1998, the EU's meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg decided to remove China from the list of "non-market economies". On April 19 of 1999, the European Commission decided to grant "market economy" status to Yunnan Malong Chemical Construction Material Co. Ltd in the anti-dumping case of yellow phosphorus, which was the first time for a Chinese enterprise to win "market economy" status in anti-dumping cases in Europe and the USA.
The negotiations between China and the EU on China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) continue to proceed. On October 10 and December 1 of 1999, Minister Shi Guangsheng of China's Foreign Trade and Economy Cooperation held discussions with Pascal Lamy, European Commissioner responsible for Trade, on China's entry into the WTO during the Second and Third Minister's Meeting of the World Trade Organization respectively. On October 25, Mr Long Yongtu, chief negotiator for China's entry into the WTO and head of the Chinese delegation, held discussions with the Director-General of the Department of Trade, European Commission in Geneva.
EU is China's third largest trading partner, next to the US and Japan. According to China's Customs statistics, the trade volume between China and the EU reached US$24.95 billion from January to June 1999, up by 15.9% over the corresponding period of the previous year, including US$13.16 billion in Chinese export, up by 0.6%, and US$11.7 billion in Chinese import, up by 39.6%. By the end of June 1999, there were 9,738 projects involving EU investment, with a contractual value of US $38.17 billion and US$19.07 billion actually paid in. From January to June 1999 alone, EU countries had directly invested in a total of 408 projects, with a contractual value of US$1.82 billion and US$1.66 billion paid in. The European Union is the largest provider of advanced technology and equipment to China. By the end of 1998, there had been 8,564 technology transfer from the EU to China, with a total contractual value of US$45.52 billion and accounting for 45.1% of the total value in the corresponding period. By the end of 1998, EU member states and official financial institutions had provided China, on accumulative basis, with US$15.277 billion in contractual government loan, about 36.2% of the total amount of loans extended to China by foreign governments and official financial institutions.
Since 1983, China and the European Commission have constantly expanded their cooperation in development assistance in areas such as personnel training, economic restructuring, commercial cooperation, environmental protection, agriculture and poverty alleviation, etc. Up till now, 19 projects have been completed which involved 146 million ECU, and 18 projects are under way which involves 124 million ECU. Since 1995, the annual development assistance from the European Commission to China has amounted to 65 million ECU.
China and the EU began their cooperation in the agricultural field since the beginning of 1980s and have yielded positive results. In 1996, the two sides signed the agreements on EU assistance in dairy project (second phase) and the project of buffalo stocks improvement, etc. All these projects are going smoothly at present.
China and the EU have conducted extensive cooperation in the educational field, including simultaneous interpretation training and academic exchanges, etc. In 1994, China-Europe International Business School was established jointly by China and the EU in Shanghai Jiaotong University to train talented people in international business and economic management. In 1997, the Project of Cooperation between China and the EU in Higher Education was launched, according to which China sends over 100 people to be further trained in the EU every year. European research centers sponsored by the EU have also been established in Renmin University, Nankai Univerity, Fudan University, Wuhan University, Sichuan United University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and etc. In October 1997, China and the EU signed the Agreement on the Project on the Training of EU Young Managers, whereby the EU would send 225 young people from EU member states to China to receive training in language and business know-how so as to have managers from European countries capable of doing business in China.
III. Joint Statement of China-EU Summit (April 2, 1998)
On 2 April 1998, H.E. Zhu Rongji, Premier of the People's Republic of China, the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the current EU Presidency, and H.E.Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission, held the first China-EU Summit in London. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on further development of China-EU relations and international issues of mutual interest in a sincere and friendly atmosphere and reached broad consensus.
Both sides agreed that with tremendous and fundamental changes of the world situation, to increase dialogue and cooperation between China and the EU, the two important forces for peace in the international arena, is not only in the fundamental interests of both sides, but also conducive to world peace, stability and development.
China expressed close interest in the progress that the EU had made in its integration and it welcomed and supported the launching of the Euro. The EU welcomed China's strong commitment to market reforms and the impressive way it had undertaken the economic restructuring process. In particular, the EU praised the new Chinese Government's bold agenda of specific initiatives announced at the Ninth National People's Congress last month.
The EU side briefed the Chinese side on the Commission's recent Communication on China. China welcomed the EU proposal which aims to upgrade the status and substance of the China-EU relationship. Both sides expressed their readiness to build and develop a 21st-century-oriented, constructive partnership of long-term stablity.
The two sides stressed that stronger economic and trade ties between China and the EU are an important foundation for continued development of their relations.
Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to securing China's entry into the World Trade Organization and held that it would reinforce the world trading system and serve the interests of all. The Chinese side appreciated the EU's support for China's entry into the WTO and reiterated its desire to become its member at an early date on the basis of balanced rights and obligations. The two sides agreed to make a concerted effort for continued progress on the WTO negotiations over the coming months, with securing a package agreement on commodity and service market access as its central task.
Both sides welcomed progress made in the China-EU human rights dialogue since its resumption last year. The EU welcomed China's decision to ratify the UN Covenant on Social, Economic & Cultural Rights and its intention to sign the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Both sides agreed that it is important to continue their dialogue covering all aspects of human rights and cooperation in broad areas in order to gain further progress.
The EU praised China's steadfast reaction to the financial troubles in Asia, particularly its continued determination not to devalue its currency and its commitment to maintaining the pace of economic and financial reform. Both sides expressed their conviction that Asia will overcome the temporary difficulties caused by the financial turmoil and that its economy will become even more prosperous after necessary and effective reform measures have been put into place.
The two sides will strengthen their exchanges and cooperation in the international financial and monetary field. The EU expressed its willingness to provide a package of specific assistance to help China establish a sound financial system, for which the Chinese side expressed its appreciation.
The two sides believed that the successful and productive Summit is of great significance for the China-EU relations. The two sides will continue this momentum of high-level exchanges and agreed to institutionalize such Summits on annual basis.
