the EU in 2007, foreign relations were unprecedentedly consolidated; though its
member states still retain independent diplomatic power, the diplomatic organs of
the EU have also been strengthened, and internal coordination is more institu-
tionalized and frequent. Regarding policies towards China, the EU has developed a
full set of policy coordination mechanisms, including weekly coordination among
working personnel from diplomatic missions of member states in Brussels, internal
coordination among diplomatic missions of member states in Beijing, monthly
coordination among directors in charge in Brussels, communication and coordi-
nation between member states and leaders of EU institutions. After the global
financial crisis broke out, the EU struggled to handle internal affairs, and divergence
surfaced in foreign relations. However, with the EU’s internal governance reform
for addressing the debt crisis and deeper integration, its policies and methods of
dealing with China will be further adjusted; especially, globalization has profoundly
rocked the EU’s traditional life-style and way of governing, forcing the EU to
pursue more and deeper contacts and cooperation with its major strategic partners at
a global level.
The past decade has witnessed a continuously rapid development of China,
which cannot do without various kinds of multi-tier, multi-field cooperation with
the EU and its member states. China perseveres in developing strategic partnerships
with the EU at a strategic level and enables extensive development of relationships
with the EU and its member states in various government departments, political
parties, local governments and all sectors of society. Given the different functions,
mechanisms and powers of the EU, differences in the development advantages of its
member states, the characteristics of the development of countries and territories
and the great differences in their developmental needs, etc., China diplomatically
deals with the EU by reinforcing communication and coordination through missions
in the EU on the one hand and deepening contacts and cooperation in light of
different characteristics of different regions within the EU on the other hand so as to
push forward in the“comprehensive”strategic partnership.
The year 2013 marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the
China-EU Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both sides jointly conducted a
comprehensive evaluation of the strategic partnership in the past decade and looked
into China-EU relations in the next decade. Though tremendous progress was made
in China-EU relations in the past decade, the two sides still have considerably
divergent views on the wording“Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”and there
are large gaps between China and the EU regarding political systems and political
ideas; furthermore, China-EU trade and investment relations are accompanied by
disequilibrium and competition, and people on both sides have many differences in
their outlook on values and history; the China-EU Strategic Partnership is also
constantly disturbed and restricted by the USA; especially, goals that were specified
in joint communiqués issued by China and the EU ten years ago have not been
completely realized. However, both China and the EU also look forward to
developing closer ties for delivering more global strategic significance to the
China-EU Strategic Partnership, and are also energetically making efforts in this
direction. These commonalities are newer philosophies, open mind and active
1 An Overview of the China-EU Strategic Partnership (2003–2013) 25