China’s development, and the EU’s scale and capacity because of its enlargement
and deepened development, China-EC/EU relations are developing on a special
track: a path of development starting from trade and economy, then on to politics,
and then to culture. In 1978, China and the EC signed a trade agreement, offering
each other the most-favored-nation treatment; China and the EU signed the trade
and economic cooperation treaty in 1985, and cooperation between the two was
soon being carried out in industry, agriculture, science and technology, energy,
transportation, environmental protection and development assistance; in 1988,
China and the EC sent each other diplomatic missions, providing the official
channel for further improving the bilateral relationship. In 1989, China-EC relations
were at a low because the EC imposed sanctions on China for political reasons,
including raising an arms embargo against China. Before long, driven by economic
and trade exchanges, China-EU relations were restored. With the European inte-
gration project, the euro coming into being, and the enlargement of the EU, the
economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe have expanded, which
helps improve the political relationship, and facilitates deeper social and cultural
exchanges and greater cooperation in various areas.
The precondition for the gradual development of China-EU relations is: China
and the EU see each other as strategic partners rather than strategic competitors. The
strategic guideline of“supporting the construction of a strong and united Europe”^1
proposed by China’s top leader and the policy of embracing differences and seeking
dialogues in diplomatic relations with the EU at political and strategic levels have
prepared the road for the smooth development of an economic and trade relation-
ship between China and the EU. Despite their differences in social systems, political
concepts, cultural traditions and development periods, there is also a possibility for
China-EU relations to be pushed forward. As a strong economy, the EU launched
the global strategic planning for economy and trade, and publicizedTowards a New
Asia Strategyin 1994 andA Long Term Policy for China-Europe Relationsin 1995.
From then on, the EU has continuously updated its strategic judgments, policy
goals, work focus and implementation tools for the relationship between China and
the EU based on the changing situation. China has also been actively engaged in
developing the relationship with the EC/EU, leading China-EU relations into a
ten-year period of great development. In 1996, the human rights dialogue between
China and the EU was initiated under China’s proposal, which put an end to the
diplomatic confrontation on the issue of human rights for many years. In 1998,
leaders of China and the EU established the leaders’summit, starting direct bilateral
strategic communication. In 2000, China and the EU reached an agreement on
China’s entry into the WTO, and both sides began their transactions within the
same trade mechanism and legal framework. China and the EU reached an
agreement to establish the“cooperative partnership”in 1998, which was upgraded
to the“comprehensive partnership”in 2001. In 2003, the leaders of China and the
(^1) A chronicle of Deng Xiaoping’s Life: 1975– 1997 (Part I), Central Party Literature Press, 2004,
pp. 72–73, 123, 942.
4 H. Zhou