A joint statement was issued at the ninth China-European Union (EU) Summit in Helsinki on September 9. Both sides agreed to launch talks on framework agreement for a new partnership, and this fully reflects the width and depth of the all-round, Sino-European strategic partnership. Consequently, the relations between China and EU have once again drawn the global attention.

The Sino-EU ties have demonstrated two salient hallmarks in recent years. First, bilateral ties are increasingly institutionalized with more, extended channels for dialogue, more frequent high-level contacts and exchanges of visits, apart from 13 sets of regular dialogue mechanism, involving in the political, economical, science and technological and cultural spheres of both sides, such as the vice-ministerial routine strategic dialogue mechanism. The Sino-EU partnership framework agreement, now being drafted, will cover all spheres of bilateral ties, including strengthening cooperation in political affairs. Meanwhile, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) opened on Sept. 10 has also provided a larger space for their mutual reaction and accommodation.

Secondly, the bilateral ties are expanding and all dimensional. Sino-EU trade reached 120.9 billion US dollars in the first half of 2006, an increase of 20.8 percent over the same period of 2005. And remarkable achievements were made in the fields of politics, science and technology and personnel exchange. EU and China officially started "the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) in May this year, and the Sino-EU science and technology year is expected to begin in October.

China and EU will also step up their strategic dialogue in the fields of energy and transport and communications and, since the EU member nations have become the tourist destinations of Chinese citizens, the non-governmental basis for Sino-EU ties have been greatly reinforced.

Moreover, as Sino-EU ties are built on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, they conform to the needs of the present era with broader prospects. For EU, its China relations constitute a foundation of the its external policy, which concerns whether or not it can formulate a policy of "common diplomacy and security" and whether or not it can be guaranteed to attain "development dividends" from the rise of China and maintain its competitiveness on the China market. As for China, its EU ties constitute a key link in its foreign policy as a major power. As a matter of fact, there is no a fundamental clash of interest between China and EU, but a huge potential for bilateral cooperation as both sides adhere to multilateralism in their handling of international affairs.

However, how to keep enriching and substantiating Sino-EU strategic partnership remains a very topic that deserves meticulous considerations from both sides. There has been a reappraisal inside the EU of possible impacts that might be brought on it by China's rise. It is learned that the EU will again release a number of new policy documents this year, including a China trade policy paper and a China policy paper.

A new trend of concern is that EU has also attempted to pursue "hedging" strategy toward China, namely working hard to keep a close lookout on China while maintaining its contact and developing its ties with the country. In recent years, EU has set up an East Asia coordination device (mechanism) with the United States and a strategic dialogue mechanism with Japan, and it will establish for the first time a "security strategic dialogue mechanism" with India. All these mechanisms are said to target more or less at China.

In the past year, EU has met with numerous difficulties in the course of advancing its integration process, which can be turned into dark clouds affecting Sino-EU ties. For an example, the constitution crisis of the EU will give rise to a possible emergence of trade protectionism inside the alliance.

Reviewing the road China and EU have taken in the past 31 years from their estrangement or misunderstanding to interdependence, from unfamiliarity to mutual acquaintance, an important inspiration is that "Sino-EU ties should be 'ascended' further for better, distant prospects" by eliminating outside interferences. At present, as Sino-EU relations are situated on a higher starting point, both sides should make joint efforts from a long-term point of view to dispel dark clouds overhead and march toward their still splendid tomorrow.

By People's Daily Online