and practically to cope with the difficulties brought on by the European debt crisis.
China openly stressed that it believed the euro zone was able to cope with the debt
problems, which is in sharp contrast to the US’s pessimistic view towards the EU
and the euro zone. Undeniably, there are trade imbalances and lack of under-
standing throughout the public between China and Southern European countries,
but there are many opportunities for continuously deepened cooperation and
examples of success in this relationship. In recent years, especially after weathering
the historical test from the European debt crisis, China and Southern European
countries have enhanced their cooperation in economy and trade, science and
technology, energy, the climate, and the environment.
Thefive Northern European countries, i.e. Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway
and Iceland, are among thefirst western countries to establish diplomatic relations
with the PRC. Three of them are EU member States, i.e. Sweden, Denmark and
Finland, which exerted their unique influence on the EU-China strategic partnership
in the past decade. The EU member States in Northern Europe depend a lot on
foreign relations and have close relations with the global economy, so they all
believe in open trade and a competition policy and are against trade protectionism;
they have the same or similar viewpoints as China. Northern European countries are
highly complementary to China in economy and cooperate very closely with China
on issues of economy, technology and investment. The EU member States in
Northern Europe are developed countries and typical welfare countries and as such
make an overall good impression on the people of China, so China conducts
exchanges with them in governance and social development models in a very
profound and comprehensive way. Northern European countries take an active part
in global governance and play an active role in international dispute settlements,
environmental protection, and democracy, human rights and rule of law, and they
are also striving to exert such influence on developing countries, including China.
The EU states in Northern Europe maintain steady relations with China because of
the EU policy.
Some EU member states play a special role in China-EU relations, such as
Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg and Austria. These relations are not to be enu-
merated in this report due to limited objective conditions. In a word, although the
EU tries to“speak with one voice”in its relationship with China, the roles that the
member States play in this relationship are irreplaceable and absolutely necessary
owing to the special system, mechanism and power structure of the EU.
1.6 Examining China-EU Relations by Making
Comparisons with EU-US Relations
China-EU Relations are affected not only by various forces within the EU but also
by external forces. China-EU Relations always involve a third party, a fourth party
or afifth party. Not long ago, some Chinese scholars attempted to examine
1 An Overview of the China-EU Strategic Partnership (2003–2013) 19