guaranteed by lots of laws and treaties, while China-EU relations are still sustained
mainly by political dialogue and administrative promotion and do not have the
sociality and stability of the EU-US relations.
1.7 Attention to Mutual Understanding Between People
in China and People in the EU
The forces which encourage the rapid development of international relations
include not only strategic judgment and choice of national leaders but also the
natural growth of economic and trade relations and the potential impact from social
perceptions. These driving forces sometimes benignly interact with each other but
sometimes restrict each other. Correct strategic choices made by both Chinese and
European leaders define the direction of China-EU strategic cooperation, while
rapid development in economic and technologicalfields inalienably link China and
the EU together. However, development of these relations may lead to distortion in
knowledge and understanding.
This Report takes the perspective of social perceptions about China-EU relations
and takes stock of the“Chinese vision of the EU”and the“European vision of
China”to reveal the social background on which China-EU relations operate.
Examination shows that factors which affect people’s perceptions about foreign
countries are very complicated, including roles of the authorities and guidance by
media, motivation by economic interests and effects of knowledge popularization,
while people’s expectations about development prospects for their own countries
also exert an impact on their perceptions about foreign countries. At present, there
are signs indicating that people in both China and the EU are passively dealing with
each other to different extents, which deserves concerns and attention. It is very
arduous to create a strategic partnership in an increasingly unfriendly atmosphere
between the two sides.
1.8 Conclusions and Outlook
An overview of the China-EU strategic partnership in a decade shows that contacts
and cooperation between China and the EU have reached an unprecedented density,
breadth and depth. Development of this mutual relationship not only benefits from
the development of both China and the EU, but it also promotes respective future
development.
Since the largest expansion of the European Union in its history was completed
in 2004, great changes have taken place in both the EU’s territory and mode, and
the EU has become geographically closer to China though there is a long distance
between them in thought and perception. After theTreaty of Lisbonwas adopted by
24 H. Zhou