Speech by H.E. Ambassador Song Zhe, Head of the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Union

at the Conference on the EU-China Relations

(29 April 2009, Egmont Palace, Brussels)

 

     Director Van Hellemont, Director Gustaaf Geeraerts, Director James Moran,

     Ladies and Gentlemen,

     It is a great pleasure for me to join today's discussion of China-EU relations. I thank the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, the Egmont Institute and the InBev China Chair at the UCL for organizing this conference. I also congratulate BICCS on your 3rd anniversary and commend your contributions to the academic exchange and friendship between China and Europe.

      Next month, there will two important events between China and the EU: the Second High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue in Brussels on the 7th and 8th and the 11th China-EU Summit in Prague later. At present, relevant departments on the two sides, including those headed by Mr. Moran and myself, are actively preparing for the events. I know people are watching us, wondering what's going on between us, who's winning the warm-up game and which side is more ready to up the ante.

     But in my view, these two events will be some big swirls on the river of our relations. Personally I find the river much more interesting to explore and sail through. So today, I would focus more on the dynamics, principles and general trends of China-EU relationship, which I believe will be more pertinent to building our approach and guiding our actions.

     Ladies and Gentlemen,

     China and the EU set up diplomatic relations in 1975. Between now and then, I find three outstanding changes of our relationship.

     First, this relationship becomes more mature and stable in political sense. Officially, our relationship is 34 years old. According to Confucius, one should be mature and self-reliant at the age of 30 and be full of reason and wisdom at the age of 40. It is fitting to describe our relations using his generalization.

     Many European scholars define our relationship as "derivative" or "secondary". Some Chinese scholars would use the word "passive". They see the relationship between us as subordinate and secondary to our respective relations with the United States, Russia and other major powers.

     While I agree that the motional global pattern, especially equilibrium between major powers, has an impact on China-EU relations, I also find an exceptionally strong character of independence and self-reliance of our relationship. In 1963, Mr. Edgar Faure, on a mission to Beijing sent by French President Charles de Gaulle, negotiated with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on the establishment of diplomatic relations. He made it clear that France pursued an independent foreign policy and would make decision on its own without asking for endorsement from the Soviet Union or the United States. In 1975, after completing his mission of setting up diplomatic relations with China, the EEC Vice-President Soames said, China and Europe share common interest in greater independence in an interdependent world, and all countries in the world shall retain dignity through independence and equal partnership.

     In recent years, China-EU relations had a "triple jump": from constructive partnership to comprehensive partnership and then to comprehensive and strategic partnership. Our dialogue mechanism keeps growing and becomes more sophisticated, covering a wide range from top level summit to technical consultations. The EU has released six China policy papers. China has only one EU Policy Paper, but it's the only one China has ever published on policy for a regional organization. The PCA negotiations are underway, which upon its conclusion will provide a comprehensive legal framework for our future cooperation.

      More importantly, our relationship becomes more resilient, more resistant against disruptions. No relationship could be rosy all the time, neither is ours. However, each time, we were able to overcome the difficulties and bring our relations back on track. Because we understand very well how important this relationship is, how much benefit it is bringing to our people and will bring to our future generations. I think it is fair to say that our relationship serves a model for countries having different social system and level of development.

     Secondly, our relationship becomes more productive and promotive for bilateral cooperation. In 1975, our trade was 2.4 billion U.S. dollars. By 1980, we had only one joint venture, the Dynasty Wine Company in Tianjin. In 1985, when we signed the economic and trade cooperation agreement, it covers only 13 sectors. But today, there are too many stories to tell about our fruitful cooperation.

     May I not list the boring figures, but using a little imagination. Imagine a young man called Pierre. He's a Belgian working in a science institute. On Monday morning, when he struggles out of bed, he puts on a shirt that's made in China. In this connection, Pierre is a beneficiary of our booming trade. Last year, China-EU trade exceeded 425 billion U.S. dollars, which means a two-day trade volume would equal the whole of 1975, the first year of our diplomatic relations.

     Now Pierre left home for office. He drives a Polo. He may not know that Volkswagen just made a new sale record on the Chinese market in March. BMW, Mercedes,  Citroen and many other European car makers are all expanding their business in China.

     Pierre walks into the office, he finds a new member in his team, a research fellow from China. As China and the EU signed the science and technology cooperation agreement, there have been more joint research programs.  
     Pierre asks his new colleague how to study Chinese. He is advised to take lessons in a Confucius Institute. There are now more than 60 Confucius Institute in Europe. China and the EU also launched the Erasmus China Strand, a student exchange scholarship project. So Pierre may apply for studying in China.

    When Pierre goes out for lunch, he meets a few Chinese tourists asking directions. China and the EU signed in 2004 the MOU on Approved Destination Status. Each year more than one million Chinese tourists come to Europe.

     After work, Pierre goes home and joins a party at his neighbor, a Chinese student studying in VUB. In recent years, China signed agreements on mutual recognition of academic degrees with many EU member states. More Chinese students are coming to Europe. Now the number already exceeds two hundred thousand.

     I don't think Pierre is only an imagination. Today, China and Europe would find the other's presence in every corner and in every minute, thanks to our fast-growing cooperation. It is not exaggerating to say; now we can't live without the other.

    Thirdly, our relationship becomes more pervasive and influential in international affairs. China and the EU are two important players on world stage. We have forged a close partnership dealing with international issues.

     Our international cooperation expanded from addressing regional hot spots to meeting global challenges. In the 1970s and 1980s, when European security was threatened by the world nuclear arms race, China joined Europe to oppose it and called on the superpowers to reduce and destroy their nuclear weapons. Nowadays, China and the EU support each other for political settlement of regional issues, including the Korean Peninsula and the Iranian nuclear issues. 

     In recent years, the speeding globalization brought us more opportunities for strategic collaboration. China and the EU have been involved in almost all major international issues. Facing the threat of terrorism and the proliferation of WMD, China and the EU signed the joint statement on non-proliferation and arms control. To tackle the challenge of climate change, we work together to promote the Kyoto Protocol's constructive role and its entry into force, issued the Joint Declaration on Climate Change and established China-EU partnership for climate change. To stem the spread of new infectious diseases, China and the EU jointly organized the International Pledging Conference on avian influenza, which raised 1.8 billion U.S. dollars for the disease prevention and control. At this moment, to fight a way out of the economic downturn triggered by the financial crisis, China and the EU take a common position against protectionism and insisted on open market. China and the EU could count on each other confronting the most daunting global challenges.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Thirty four years is only a blink in the history, yet we have witnessed such enormous changes in our relations. At the same time, there are also some constant factors that moor our relations on steady progress. They remain unchanged and I believe will not change in the future.

    The first constant is our commitment to peace. The European people lived through two world wars and the Cold War in last century. Peace was all that Europe craved for and became the most fundamental driving force for European integration. Peace is also the essence of Chinese culture. We always cherish peaceful coexistence and seek harmony without uniformity. Having suffered a painful century since the Opium War, the Chinese people have an eager desire for a peaceful international environment.

    Jean Monnet said, "To build Europe is to build peace." Similarly, China's nation-building contributes to building world peace. In pursuit of peace, China and Europe have a lot in common. Both support multilateralism and would resort to diplomatic and political means in handling international disputes. Both are against the use of force or threat of force. We will continue to cooperate for peace in the twenty-first century, which inherited racial, religious and regional conflicts from the past and is meeting new challenges such as financial crisis, climate change, and energy and food security.

    The second constant is our pursuit of common development. The European Union is the most unique and successful regional integration in the history of mankind. It has brought substantial benefits to the European people. One of my colleagues visited Schengen recently and was reminded how the Schengen Agreement facilitated greater mobility on the European continent. Nowadays, easy travel has been taken for granted, but it was beyond imagination a dozen of years ago. The customs union, common policy on trade, agriculture and fishery, single market, the four free flows, the Economic and Monetary Union, all the integration measures served catalyst to Europe's development and prosperity.

    On China's side, the Chinese people would lose no time to pursue development after regaining independence and liberation. We started from scratch and after decades of experimenting, chose the policy of reform and opening up. China's economy grew ten times bigger. Tremendous progress has been made on legal system, rule of law and human rights.

    In the process of development, China and Europe find the other indispensable partner, because our economies are strongly complementary and our cooperation is mutually beneficial. And the world economy also benefits from the cooperation between the world's largest union of developed countries and the largest developing country.

    The third constant is our desire to strengthen friendship. We Chinese say, "Affinity between peoples brings their countries closer". The friendly contact between our people traces back to the Silk Road. Though we are two civilizations with strong distinctions, we find many connections and attractions between us, which serve a lasting source of our friendship. The Chinese people admire the European culture. They read Balzac and Dumas, listen to Mozart and Beethoven, and take a journey to see Da Vinci and Picasso. Many young couples would enjoy their honeymoon in Europe.

    I find among the Europeans an equally strong interest in China. Last Spring Festival, we organized an open house at our Mission. Invitations were sent to friends, neighbors but mostly people we didn't know. It happened to be a rainy day, but the enthusiasm of our guests filled us with warmth. In four hours, we received more than a thousand visitors, including many silver hairs and toddlers. It tells me that our people's friendship is a magnet that will bind us together. It is the solid foundation of our relationship.

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    These changes and constants illustrate the dynamics, principles and trends of the China-EU relations. The changes bring impetus and progress, whereas the constants ensure stability and sustainability. Premier Wen Jiabao once explained that our partnership being strategic means our cooperation has an overall, long-term, and stable feature. It must transcend differences in ideology and social system, not to be affected by single issue at a particular time. I believe, if we keep in mind the overall interest of our relations and work together to promote common interest between our peoples, we will be able enjoy a closer partnership in the long run, and for next month, ensure the upcoming High-level Dialogue and Summit great success.

    Of course, the year 2009 will be interesting and memorable. China will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic. The EU will commemorate the 30th anniversary of direct election for the European Parliament, 10th anniversary of the Euro and the 5th anniversary of EU's eastward enlargement. Isn't it a crucial moment of China-EU relations? Are there golden opportunities for advancing our comprehensive and strategic partnership?

    Dear friends,

    I appreciate your interest in China-EU relations and your participation in relevant discussions either for today or on other occasions. I welcome your views, suggestions and proposals, because they are important reference for the two sides on official decision-making, and more importantly, they will help enhance our mutual understanding. I sincerely hope that you will carry on your research on our relations, contribute to our friendship and cooperation and advise us actively on promoting China-EU comprehensive and strategic partnership. Thank you.