Evolution of the relationship between the EU and China Research Paper

Evolution of the relationship between the EU and China - Research Paper Example Sino-European relations, during the era of the Cold War, were generally derivative of the imperatives of the cold war as well as the broader associations with the superpowers. Because of the ideological and political constraints of this era, the development of commercial and economic relations took the precedence (UN 7). On April 3, 1978, a trade agreement was signed between China and the European Community (EC). This agreement was extended in 1985 to a wider Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). China got the status of Most Favored Nation (MFN) from the EC and embraced Beijing in the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) provisions from 1980 (Stepan & Ostermann 20). These European Union-China relations, in the past few years, have been growing gradually. Since 2004, the People’s Republic of China has become EU’s second largest trading partner, with the Chinese customs claiming that EU is the biggest trading partner of China. An annual summit between the EU and China’s state/government heads is held, since 1998, to discuss the bilateral and global issues. Moreover, since October 2003, China and EU have recognized each other as effective ‘strategic partners’. The idea that the relations between China and EU have acquired a fresh strategic significance and gained momentum remains fundamental to their strategic partnership (Pastor & Gosset 1). According to the European Union External Service Action, the two sides commenced their relationship in 1975 and the 1985’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force to govern their relationship (Para 1). EU remains the largest trading partner of China, while Chin a is its leading supplier of imports and the second biggest 2-way trading partner (European Union External Service Action Para 2). Therefore, EU and China have had bilateral relationship since 1975. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of the relations between them with the main objective being examining the development of their relationship since 1975 by looking at various aspects of their association. The two sides hold annual summits as well as frequent trade, economic, and political dialogues, including more that 50 sectoral agreements and dialogues, which range from industrial policy to environmental protection, culture or education. Human rights are regularly discussed as a part of the regular political dialogue and during specific dialogues on human rights, held twice a year since 1995. This paper will also clarify that EU and China are allies but not competitors. Events (Economic and Political) Dictating their Relationship and the Key EU Policies The relatio ns between China and the EU have faced some hardships since 2005 with some scholars expressing their deep