investigations against China again and again. The opinion surveys respectively
conducted in Europe and China showed that more Europeans were worried about
possible competition from China. Some even believed that China-EU relations were
neither“comprehensive” (for lack of cooperation in key areas) nor“strategic”
(because cooperation is confined to low politics); there was even no“partnership”
to speak of. The China-EU“competition relationship”, gradually replacing the
“strategic partnership”, became a common saying for some Europeans, for which
Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Union, had to explain the nature
of the competition and cooperation between China and the EU, arguing that
China-EU competition was not like the“win-lose competition in a sports game”,
and believing that“social and economic interaction [between China and the EU]
could potentially change the race between us”(see Footnote 9). That is to say, there
was competition between China and the EU, but it was no zero-sum relationship,
because it was possible for China and the EU to make the“cake”bigger through
cooperation. It was more widely believed that, of course, the emergence of dis-
agreements and disputes came from the respective transformations of China and the
EU, which led China-EU relations after 2006 to a crucial commissioning period, so
China and the EU should be faced with the“problems incidental to growing up”,^18
re-examine each other from a rational perspective, change unrealistic expectations
and misjudgments, and seek opportunities and approaches to function in a practical
way.
In fact, China-EU relations after 2006 did not slide into stagnation, but instead
advanced steadily in various areas. Cooperation mechanisms were established and
cooperation projects were mobilized one after another during high-level strategic
interaction between the two sides. The impact from the 2008 globalfinancial crisis
bound China and the EU even closer. The Chinese market became the only market
for export increase for the EU, and there was more cooperation on science and
technology, more communication between political parties, more social dialogues
and more cultural exchanges between China and the EU, the mechanisms of dia-
logue and exchange between China and the EU reaching over 50. The large number
of exchanges and cooperation created close interaction. Both sides established the
China-EU High-level (Vice-Premier-level) Economic and Trade Dialogue in 2008,
upgraded the China-EU (State-Councilor-level) Strategic Dialogue in 2010, and
launched the China-EU High-level People-to-people Exchange and Dialogue in
- While others were troubled with economic decline caused by the subprime
mortgage crisis in the US, China and the EU exchanged and released relevant
policies in governance with regards to“China’s Twelfth Five-year Plan”and“the
EU 2020 Strategy”, and extensive dialogues and mutual learning were initiated at
the levels of political parties and local governments.
A conclusion may be drawn that there is some contradiction in practical coop-
eration and public opinions regarding China-EU relations. The interpretation of
(^18) Chao Huaipu,“China-EU Relations”.http://www.china.com.cn/international/txt/2009-07/28/
content_18220101.htm.
10 H. Zhou