The dynamics of China-Europe rapprochement
- By Jin Liangxiang
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 4, 2015
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Chinese president Xi Jinping walks with French president Francois Hollande during a welcome ceremony in Beijing on November 2, 2015. Hollande is visiting China ahead of the COP21 summit to seek China's support for a new climate change deal in Paris. [Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng] |
China-EU relations have become much warmer in recent weeks. Shortly after President Xi Jinping's visit to U.K., King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande respectively came to visit China in late October and early November.
The frequency and friendliness of these visits is rare in the history of China-EU relations. There are various reasons, but the dynamics mainly lie in the necessity of cooperation between the two major world economies and in transformation of the global power structure.
A warming is natural given the importance of relationships. The EU, the United States and China are the three pillars of the world economy. According to IMF statistics for 2014, the EU collectively surpassed the U.S. GDP of $17.418 trillion to reach $18.495 trillion, while China was in third place with $10.380 trillion. Together, the GDP of the EU and China accounts for 36 percent of the world total, so close cooperation is inevitable.
Secondly, both share dissatisfaction with the United States over the TTP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) issue. In his remarks following the signing of the TPP agreement, President Barack Obama said that the U.S. should not let countries like China write the rules of international trade. Though China takes a tolerant view of the TPP in principle, it certainly has reasons to be uncomfortable with U.S. intentional efforts to build an exclusive economic alliance against China.
The EU is also unhappy because of U.S. attempts to impose the TPP model on the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). Or to put it another way: the U.S. intends to force Europe to accept what the U.S. has achieved in TTP negotiations. Though the EU is ready to negotiate, it cannot accept something being imposed on it.
The U.S. certainly is still the most influential economy. However, both China and EU, despite their strong positions in the global economy, are also victims of U.S. hegemonic behavior. For Europe, close economic relations with China will certainly increase leverage against the U.S. in the TTIP negotiations next year.
EU's overture to China thirdly reflected its long dissatisfaction with the U.S. selfish policy. Since they have to depend on the U.S. for military protection, European countries would rather like to conceal these dissatisfactions.
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