member States and their communities play a major role in this respect owing to the
characteristics of the EU’s diversified cultures, so it is difficult to avoid being
“empty”in the people-to-people exchange at the China-EU level. And such a
tendency is in sharp contrast to the colorful cultural exchanges between China and
EU member States. It is a pending issue as to how the people-to-people exchange
between China and the EU is going to lead the zeitgeist and guide the public
exchanges between China and Europe.
China and the EU have expanded exchange and cooperation continuously
through political, economic and cultural channels, and the various channels have
become a close and inseparable bond between China and the EU. The differences in
structure and system, value, and way of thinking between China and the EU, as well
as some third-party (esp. the US) influence have maintained some conflicts and
disagreements between the two sides for a long period, which makes the China-EU
bilateral relations somewhat uncertain.
1.4 Examining the“Strategic”Aspect of China-EU
Relations Regarding Global Governance
It is hard to assess whether China-EU relations are strategic in a true sense in the
bilateral situation. The trade increase or cultural exchange between China and the
EU could be of strategic significance, and it may not necessarily be strategic. The
platform qualified for measuring the strategic nature of China-EU relations is the
possibility, approach and potential of cooperation between China and the EU on
global affairs. Cooperation between China and the EU on global governance may
not only test the strategic nature of China-EU relations, but it may also be an
opportunity for both sides to understand each other’s position and role in inter-
national affairs and strategic planning to improve future cooperation. Therefore, this
report is aimed at reviewing the relationship between China and Europe (the EU) in
some institutions, mechanisms and situations for global governance, such as the UN
Security Council, the WTO, globalfinancial governance, global energy governance,
and global climate governance, etc.
It is argued in the report that the EU has a special position in the UN Security
Council,^25 and China and the EU have different choices of priorities on the Security
Council, different interests and concerns about some geographical issues, and dif-
ferent understandings about some basic international principles (such as the
responsibilities and executing party of humanitarian intervention and protection).
Therefore, although China and the EU both support the UN Security Council’s
crucial role in safeguarding world peace and tackling global threats, and both sides
have the desire, expressions and some regional cooperation, even very close and
(^25) It means that the EU itself is not a permanent member of the UN Security Council, but two EU
member states are. The EU’s representation on the UN Security Council is indirect.
1 An Overview of the China-EU Strategic Partnership (2003–2013) 13