| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.35, 23.10.03, p29 |
| Publication Date | 23/10/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 23/10/03 Relations between the EU and China are undeniably maturing. But there is much work still to be done, reports David Cronin THE annual EU-China summit in Beijing next Thursday (30 October) will be the first such meeting between the Union's elite and Wen Jiabao, who took over from Zhu Rongji as Chinese premier in March. Although billed as a "getting to know you" encounter, the buzzwords will be "maturing partnership" - the unsexy title of a European Commission paper on EU-Sino relations published last month. The most visible manifestation of the "partnership" is set to be the signing of a cooperation accord on Europe's Galileo global satellite navigation system, to which the Chinese are due to contribute some €230 million. It is telling that the principal breakthrough at the summit relates to space exploration. For relations on more earthly matters are far less harmonious. The strains are best illustrated by disagreements over China's controversial human-rights record. From the point of view of political expediency, it might make sense for the EU delegation to avoid making too big a fuss about this, lest it damage its ties with a burgeoning economic power. The value of trading links between the two sides came to more than €115 billion last year. Not only is China the Union's third largest trading partner, it is also an enormous magnet for European investors. Nevertheless, the Commission's paper lists human rights concerns as the number-one priority for political dialogue with Beijing. Since 1996, meetings on the subject have been taking place at the level of senior officials. EU insiders regard the fact that China dropped its previous reluctance to discuss human rights as progress in itself. But they readily concede too that the talks have not made a major difference to those bearing the brunt of Chinese oppression, whether they be Tibetan Buddhists or Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur province. As a result, both the Commission and EU governments have agreed in principle that the dialogue should be, in the words of one official, "more efficient and results-oriented". The idea of upgrading the status of the dialogue by involving ministers is being discussed in that regard. But the notion of challenging the status quo has been strongly resisted by Beijing. "We are satisfied with the dialogue that has taken place since 1996," explained one Chinese diplomat. "And we are in favour of continuing on that basis. The relations between the EU and China cover lots of things, not just human rights. We don't understand why the media always concentrates on human rights." Lotte Leicht, Brussels director of Human Rights Watch, advocates that the dialogue should pivot around the key problems and that participants in each meeting should evaluate what progress has been made. For this to be effective, she says, the EU will have to be given clear data by China on, for example, how many inmates it has on death row - details which Beijing has so-far failed to provide. "It is essential this dialogue doesn't become an isolated effort removed from the more political dialogue, but that it becomes an integral part of it," she adds. Among the issues which Human Rights Watch wants the EU side to raise with Beijing during next week's summit are:
One development welcomed by human rights activists has been the resumption of talks between Beijing and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama- the first such formal contact in a decade. This week, 265 supporters of Tibetan independence from 46 countries wrote to Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi, urging them to capitalize on this progress by taking a bolder stance on the country. In particular, they want the EU to emulate the US by appointing a special envoy for Tibet. "This would be extremely valuable as it would send a strong message to China," says Alison Reynolds, from the Free Tibet Campaign in London. Yet a number of member states are known to harbour reservations about the idea. France is considered the most reluctant; according to an analyst of Sino-French relations, Paris has taken a "softly-softly" approach on Tibet so that it can focus on its economic involvement in the country. The EU has interpreted the publication of China's first-ever strategy paper on its relations with the EU last week as a signal of how seriously it is taking its links. But the document makes clear that Beijing will not appreciate meddling in what it considers its domestic affairs. For example, it calls on the Union "not to have any contact with the Tibetan government in exile" or provide facilities to the separatist activities of the "Dalai clique". It urges, too, that representatives of Taiwan be barred from undertaking official visits to the EU and that the Union's so-called One China policy (under which it rejects calls for Taiwan to be recognized as a separate state) remains watertight. Next week's summit will see both sides extolling the virtues of multilateralism (despite the fact China has refused to allow a UN special rapporteur on torture unfettered access to its prisons). And the Union is due to emphasize the constructive role which China has played in fostering negotiations on the highly sensitive topic of North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Along with Galileo, the other main economic deal Beijing is hoping for is an agreement by the EU that its member states are collectively an "authorized destination" for Chinese tourists. While Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the pneumonia-like viral epidemic, proved a major blow to Chinese tourism this year, the other WTO - the World Tourism Organization - is this week recognizing the country's potential contribution to the holiday trade (both inward and outward) by staging a major conference in Beijing. The body reckons China could hold the sixth position among markets for generating tourists, sending some 100 million abroad by 2020. But a number of EU countries are reluctant to endorse a tourism accord at this stage. The dossier has become entangled with the sometimes feverish debate about immigration, with some EU governments worried that Chinese tourists could decide not to return home. So, while the EU's partnership with China may be maturing, it seems the trust needed to reach full maturity will take some time to develop. Major preview of the annual EU-China summit, Beijing, 30 October 2003. |
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| Countries / Regions | China |
