News Release - Elements for a new EU strategy on China - JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
I.1 Executive summary
This Joint Communication proposes elements for a new EU strategy on China. It is intended to constitute the China dimension of implementing the Juncker Commission's political guidelines, contributing to the jobs, growth and investment agenda and to reinforcing the EU as a global actor.
It dovetails with the European Commission's "Trade for All" Strategy and takes into account the views of the European Parliament in its December 2015 report on the EU's relations with China, aiming to set out a policy framework for EU engagement with China for the next five years. The EU and China are two of the three largest economies and traders in the world1 .
Both have changed considerably since the Commission's previous Communication on China a decade ago 2 . The rise of China has happened with unprecedented scale and speed. Not only is China different internally than it was before the current leadership took over in 2013, but China's increased weight and a renewed emphasis on "going global" mean that it is seeking a bigger role and exerting greater influence on an evolving system of global governance.
The EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation fulfils an important role as the highestlevel joint document guiding the EU-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. But the EU needs its own strategy, one which puts its own interests at the forefront in the new relationship; which promotes universal values; which recognises the need for and helps to define an increased role for China in the international system; and is based on a positive agenda of partnership coupled with the constructive management of differences.
I.2 The China context
China is at a critical juncture. It has declared its old economic and social model to be "unsustainable", and aims to shift to a more balanced pattern of development which requires a strengthening of the institutional basis required for a market-led economy. This transition is complex and may not always be smooth. Moreover, economic reform has to take place against the background of competing political and economic interests.
At the same time, stable economic growth and employment creation are important for domestic political legitimacy. China is witnessing rapid ageing of the population and rising regional and socioeconomic disparities which create domestic tensions. Internal change in China has external impact. Economically and financially, in trade and investment flows, strategically, increasingly militarily and in other areas, China is seeking space and a voice. As a consequence, the decisions China makes about its political, economic and social development matter to the EU more than ever. The EU will have to deal with a number of emerging trends:
China's policy of "going global" is accelerating. Its companies are being encouraged to trade, invest abroad, and find resources as never before. China's growing connection to global capital markets can generate benefits for all, provided that the right framework conditions are in place.
China's growing global influence and interests lead to a corresponding demand for a greater say in global economic governance. In international relations, China is also engaging more (e.g. on development, climate action, and international security hotspots). In its region, it is becoming more assertive.
China is facing a structural economic slowdown that will generate challenges and opportunities both within and outside China. China's transition to a more sustainable pattern of development is complex and may lead to bouts of turbulence within China and more widely.
The latest Five Year Plan is designed to accelerate economic, social and environmental re-balancing and a shift to consumption-driven growth, as well as continuing rule of law reform and anti-corruption efforts.
\ There has been a lack of progress in giving the market a more decisive role in the economy in the key areas of concern to the EU. Recent legislative initiatives have introduced new restrictions on foreign operators in China, which go against market opening and the principles of equal treatment and a level playing field. They also deprive China of the best solutions to enhance economic activity. At the same time, China's authoritarian response to domestic dissent is undermining efforts to establish the rule of law and to put the rights of the individual on a sounder footing.
page source http://eeas.europa.eu/china/
