Experts: China's first EU policy paper vital to further ties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Experts: China's first EU policy paper vital to further ties

China published its first policy paper on the European Union (EU) on Monday, in hopes of furthering bilateral ties using its detailed layouts on cooperation in nearly all fields.

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China published its first policy paper on the European Union (EU) on Monday, in hopes of furthering bilateral ties using its detailed layouts on cooperation in nearly all fields.

The EU Policy Paper, also China's first policy paper on a country or region, expounded the objectives of China's EU policy and outlined plans for bilateral cooperation in the next five years.

The document aims to "enhance China-EU cooperation and promote a long-term and stable development of China-EU relations".

Shen Jiru, chief of the Division of International Strategics of the Institute of Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it was an indication of China's new positive foreign policy.

"China-EU cooperation will be expanded and deepened from traditional economy and trade and politics to culture, education, social development and judicial sectors," Shen said.

The cooperation between the two sides will develop in a regular and sustainable manner with the guidelines highlighted in the paper, Shen added.

China and the EU have developed an ever closer consultation and fruitful cooperation in the political, economic, trade, scientific,cultural and educational fields, the file said, noting "China-EU relations now are better than at any time in history".

"China is committed to a long-term, stable and full partnership with the EU", the paper said, adding that China expects the European Union (EU) to become China's largest trading and investment partner.

Currently, the EU is China's third biggest trading partner and vice versa.

Statistics from Chinese Customs show the trade volume between China and the EU hit 86.76 billion US dollars last year. In the first eight months of 2003, China-EU trade hit 77.1 billion US dollars, increased by 41.8 percent.

Li Huiying, deputy director of European studies of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the think-tank of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said the increase was also the first.

"The policy paper illustrated China's stance on major economic topics between China and the EU. We can read of the Chinese government's efforts, a great support to the business community, in promoting China-EU trade," Li said.

In the paper, China called upon the EU to grant it a "full market economy status" at an early date, reduce and abolish anti-dumping and other discriminatory policies and practices against China, and apply the Transitional Product-Specific Safeguard Mechanism (TPSSM) prudently.

The EU has published five strategic documents on EU-China relations since 1990. China's first policy paper on the EU is a positive reaction, said Wang Lunan, vice-president of the Sichuan International Studies University.

The EU, in its fifth strategy document on EU-China ties issued on Sept. 10 this year, described the relationship with China as "maturing".

The Chinese government appreciated the efforts the EU and its members had made in developing relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said.

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