Workshop
Details
The strategic partnership between the EU and China just recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. However, the initial joy turned gradually into disillusion along with the continuous rise of the East Asian continent. The partnership has remained lifeless and lacking in content in several areas. Many projects of cooperation got tangled up, due to the diverge interests of both parties. Lately the young alliance has been confronted with conflicts frequently: WHO- legal disputes because the PR China has not yet implemented export limitations for noble earths, or EU- protests about unfair subsidies from the Chinese government to the green industry, have stressed the bilateral cooperation.
Due to the numerous changes of leadership in China as well as in the European countries, the KAS/ Beijing has supported a “UACES Collaborative Research, Network on EU-China Relations” organized workshop on the topic “ Strategic Partnership? The China- Europe Relations under New Leadership?”
Goal of this event, was to promote the bilateral exchange and the mutual understanding; the range of topics were broad, in order to satisfy the complexity of the China- Europe Relations: The role of the new governments concerning modifications of the strategic partnership, strategic resources, trade relations and urban development, were discussed.
The workshop referees (university lecturers, professors, postgraduates, senior research fellows, EU- delegates) presented their scientific working papers in panel discussions.
An important insight gain was the in the western countries often ignored fact, that in political systems of Asian partners continuous development is favoured over radical changes of course. Due to this fact, the crucial drivers of the bilateral relationship are not the governments, but rather the frame developments in individual areas of the partnership. For this reason, the behaviour of foreign businesses and trade disputes play a more important role. The panel, which engaged in debate on resources and trade relations, arrived at the conclusion, that the conflict areas have been enlarged due to Chinas development and Europe’s crisis. The dispute about export quotas concerning noble earths, the brawl about a concrete technical standardisation in the joint sponsored electro mobility, or European criticism on distortion of competition due to illegal state subsidies in the solar sector, demonstrate current difficulties. While the EU and the PR China used to complement one another well through international division of labour, today in consequence of rising sophistication of the own technologies more friction surface has been generated. However, simultaneously new opportunities of cooperation have developed: China is urbanizing rapidly and wants to benefit from Europe’s experience concerning urbanization and integration of new, mostly poor immigrants. Moreover there are promising cooperation approaches in solid waste management. Both sides can benefit through the adaption of already in Europe tested approaches to generate an increase of efficiency in solid waste management, such as for example recovered substance cycle or waste separation. On the area of “diplomacy from the bottom”, the direct citizen exchange, for example through student exchange programs, should not decrease according to the workshop participants. Through programs like this, the mutual cultural understanding can be encouraged and lay a solid foundation for European- Chinese cooperation.
All in all the review oft the event turned out very positive. The head of organization, Dr. Frauke Austermann, assistant professor of the ESSCA School of Management, Shanghai, remarked in the closing speech, that throughout time many concrete conflicts have emerged, however, these could be best solved through a partnership. Both sides are aware, that global challenges, like the climate change, can only be met effectively through cooperation. The workshop promoted a mutual understanding due to fruitful lectures and open debates concerning current difficulties. In consequence coordination- and communication approaches in the future should be disburdened. Furthermore very pleasant was the interest of Chinese participants concerning European perspectives, which can serve as proof for the continuous openness of Chinese experts in reference to foreign input.