EU Foreign Ministers Approve Commission's Strategy for Partnership with China
European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg today, gave their approval to the Commission's new Communication on China, which provides for closer engagement and co-operation than ever before between China and the EU. The Communication is a wide-ranging reappraisal of EU-China relations, which reflects China's growing economic and political importance in the world. It includes concrete measures to support China's economic integration into the global economy, to reinforce its economic and social reforms and to encourage its development into a more open society based on the rule of law. It envisages a better co-ordination of EU policy instruments—political dialogue, trade, economic co-operation and human rights policy, coupled with closer co-operation with other international lending bodies and with individual Member States—which will enable EU funding to go further.
The new Communication takes account of China's growing importance in Asia and the world, while recognizing the enormous challenges that weigh upon China as it undertakes ambitious economic reforms. The new policy is timely, geared as it is to supporting China's move towards the free market, while helping it to fend off financial turmoil of the kind currently hitting other parts of Asia. It also coincides with moves by other major partners to update their relations with China.
One key proposal—the elevation of the EU-China relationship to Presidential level—will take effect as early as October when President Jacques Santer visits Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The central thrust of this new policy is to focus—through trade negotiations, political dialogue, human rights and economic co-operation—on the single goal of assisting China in building a globally competitive economy serving a free and open society based on the rule of law.
Sir Leon Brittan, Vice-President of the Commission, welcomed the adoption of the Communication with the following statement:
“China has embarked on a remarkable programme of reform and is becoming increasingly influential on the world stage. China has also played a notably responsible role in resisting devaluation. All of this is most welcome. This new policy document now sends an important further signal to the Chinese leadership: the realization of China's potential as a leading power in Asia over the long term will hinge on its ability to match its domestic reforms with a commitment to open markets on world scale.”
“The European Union, through the initiative endorsed by its fifteen Governments today, is determined to support this twin process of domestic reform and external liberalization in the belief that it is the only way for the Chinese people to achieve lasting prosperity.”
He added, “The world will gain from China's development into an open and prosperous society and an equal partner in the world economy. Europe must now work to strengthen its economic partnership with China, coupling these developments with an active commitment to encourage the creation of a strong and open civil society.”
The Communication proposes initiatives in four major areas:
Elevating the Status and Intensity of Europe's Political Dialogue with China
The Communication aims to elevate the EU's relations with China to the status accorded to China by the United States, Japan and Russia. It therefore proposes the holding of annual Summits between China and the Commission and EU Presidency, as well as regular meetings at senior officials’ level. The first EU-China summit has already taken place in London in early April. In addition, it envisages broadening the range of subjects discussed with China to include such topics as arms control, the fight against crime, the environment, and the regional security of Asia as a whole. Furthermore, the EU would raise awareness of China-related issues within the G7, as well as encouraging dialogue between China and the OECD.
Integrating China Further in the World Economy The scale and speed of China's economic growth are making it one of Europe's major economic partners. The EU should assist the process of China's global integration through a mixture of trade policy and carefully targeted co-operation initiatives. One key pillar of this process is China's accession to the World Trade Organization. In order to ensure that China enters the WTO on terms that will make a lasting success of its membership, the EU will urge China to meet its key obligations—including transparency, national treatment, non-discrimination and a meaningful degree of access to the Chinese market for goods and services—while developing the concept of transition periods for relevant sectors. The EU should also reactivate bilateral trade talks with China in order to strengthen the same market-opening objectives as those pursued through the WTO.
The EU should establish a regular macroeconomic dialogue with China. One key purpose of this would be to inform China, which already has the world's second-largest foreign currency reserves, about the Euro and its potential as a stable reserve currency.
The EU is also well placed to support the transition process in China, as well as China's effort to reduce the side effects of rapid economic restructuring. This could be done through the elaboration of carefully targeted co-operation projects in such areas as the environment, welfare reform, human resources, training, the transfer of know- how to the energy sector, and the reduction of wealth disparities between China's regions.
In addition, the EU should help China create a sound, transparent, open and market-driven financial services sector by developing rules, supervisory mechanisms and prudential standards that will help it guard against structural weaknesses exposed in Asia during the financial turmoil.
The EU should also draw on the expertise of the European business community in order to modernize Chinese economic practice, notably in areas where the EU has a clear competitive advantage. This should take two forms. Firstly, through industrial co-operation schemes to help the Chinese improve in areas such as norms and standards, certification procedures, staff training and clean production processes. And secondly, through a business dialogue that brings together European executives and Chinese businessmen and policy makers in order to increase awareness of China's transition process and provide expertise on market reform.
Supporting China's Transition to an Open Society The human rights situation in China has improved over the last twenty years, through greater freedom of choice for individuals, the elaboration of laws protecting citizens’ rights and through China's gradual endorsement of international rights conventions.
The aim for the EU must be to assist China in the creation of an open society based on the rule of law while sustaining economic growth and social cohesion. Both sides should be ready to tackle their differences in a frank, open and respectful manner. The EU should use both dialogue and results-oriented co-operation in the pursuit of two key objectives:
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Promoting the rule of law. The EU should work to help China develop a sound and transparent framework of civil and criminal law. This process should include helping Chinese citizens use the right that the increasing growth of the rule of law will provide, and training lawyers and judges. The EU is currently devising an ambitious programme to help China devise and operate such a legal framework. This will be discussed with the Chinese authorities ready for implementation by autumn this year.
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Strengthening civil society. The aim here is to assist Chinese society itself by promoting grass-roots democracy, consumer's rights and the rights of ethnic minorities and other vulnerable social groups, not least through the provision of targeted cooperation policies in these areas.
Making Europe's Money Go Further The Commission believes there are several ways of increasing the efficiency and impact of EU funding in China without increasing the budget (currently around 70 M ecus a year up to 1999). Firstly, by tying its initiatives in more closely with other donors in order to multiply the effect of the assistance. In particular, the EU should consider increasing the involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in China. It should also improve synergy with EU Member States’ programmes there.
Reading aids and expressions:
1. European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg today, gave their approval to the Commission's new Communication on China, which provides for closer engagement and cooperation than ever before between China and the EU.
在此句中
1）European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg today, gave their approval to the Commission's new Communication on China 是主句，现在分词短语“meeting in Luxembourg today”作定语，修饰名词“foreign ministers”，“gave”是谓语动词
2）which provides for closer engagement and cooperation than ever before between China and the EU 是非限制性定语从句，修饰名词“Communication”
2. It envisages better coordination of EU policy instruments – political dialogue, trade, economic cooperation and human rights policy, coupled with closer cooperation with other international lending bodies and with individual Member States – which will enable EU funding to do further.
在此句中
1）It envisages ．．．individual Member States主句，其中“political dialogue, trade, economic cooperation and human rights policy”作“policy instruments”的同位语，说明其内容；过去分词短语“coupled with closer cooperation with other international lending bodies and with individual Member States”作定语，修饰名词“coordination”
2）非限制性定语从句“which will enable EU funding to do further”修饰名词“cooperation”
3. The new Communication takes account of China's growing importance in Asia and the world, while recognizing the enormous challenges that weigh upon China as it undertakes ambitious economic reforms.
在此句中
1）The new Communication takes account of China's growing importance in Asia and the world是主句
2）while (the Communication) recognizing the enormous … economic reforms是个省略了主语(the communication)的时间状语从句，说明主句谓语动词“take”发生的时间；其中有个限制性的定语从句“that weigh upon China as it undertakes ambitious economic reforms”，修饰名词“challenges”，在定语从句中还有个时间状语从句“as it undertakes ambitious economic reforms”，说明“weigh upon”发生的时间
3）“while”在引导时间状语从句时，如果从句中的主语和主句中的主语相同，而且谓语动词是表动作并以主动语态形式出现时，从句中的主语常常省略，谓语动词以现在分词的形式出现，如：
①He took some notes while listening to the lecture. (=while he listened/was listening to the lecture) 在听讲座时他做了点笔记。
②While traveling in Germany (=While he traveled/was traveling in Germany), he learned some German. 他在德国旅游时学了点德语。
4）take account of (take something into account):to consider or include particular facts or details when making a decision or judgment about something 考虑
①These figures did not take account of changes in the rate of inflation.这些数字没有考虑到通货膨胀率的变化。
②Indeed most providers would now claim that they did take account of the wider population.确实，大多数供应商现在会声称说，他们的确考虑了比较广泛的人口。
4. as it is：take present circumstances into account 看样子；实际上
1）We were hoping to have a holiday next week – as it is, we may not be able to get away.我们原来希望下周放假—看样子我们不能走了。
2）I thought I might be transferred but as it is I shall have to look for a new job. 我原以为我可能被调换工作，但实际上我得另找工作了。
5. The central thrust of this new policy is to focus – through trade negotiations, political dialogue, human rights and economic cooperation – on the single goal of assisting China in building a globally competitive economy serving a free and open society based on the rule of law.
这个句子看似比较长，但它是个简单句。
1）The central thrust of this new policy是主语
2）谓语是个由连系动词加动词不定式构成的系表结构
3）因为动词不定式“focus on”的宾语较长，就把修饰动词不定式的介词短语“through trade negotiations, political dialogue, human rights and economic cooperation”提前了，并在其前后用破折号分开
4）动词不定式“to focus on”的宾语是“the single goal”，其后的介词短语“of assisting China in building a globally competitive economy”修饰“the single goal”，现在分词短语“serving a free and open society based on the rule of law”修饰名词“economy”
6. In order to ensure that China enters the WTO on terms that will make a lasting success of its membership, the EU will urge China to meet its key obligations – including transparency, national treatment, non-discrimination and a meaningful degree of access to the Chinese market for goods and services – while developing the concept of transition periods for relevant sectors.
在此句中
1）动词不定式短语“In order to … success of its membership”作目的状语，其中的“that China enters the WTO on terms that will make a lasting success of its membership”是宾语从句，作“ensure”的宾语，在宾语从句中还有个定语从句“that will make a lasting success of its membership”，修饰名词“terms”
2）the EU will urge China … goods and services是主句，其中的介词短语“including transparency, national treatment, non-discrimination and a meaningful degree of access to the Chinese market for goods and services”作定语，修饰名词“obligations”
3）while developing the concept of transition periods for relevant sectors是个省略了主语“China is”的时间状语从句，说明“to meet its key obligations”的时间。
Questions:
- What are some of the policy instruments the EU employ to reach its goal?
- What is the objective of the EU's new policy?
- What should China do if it intends to become a leading power in Asia, according to Sir Leon Brittan?
- What are the four initiatives that have been proposed in the European Commission's communication?
- What topics will be covered in the summits between China and the European Commission and EU Presidency?
- What are the obligations China should meet to enter the World Trade Organization?
- Why does the EU intend to establish a regular macro-economic dialogue with China?
- How can the EU help China create a sound, transparent, open and market-driven financial services sector?
- What advantages does the EU have in helping China modernize its economic practice?
- What kind of society will the EU help China to create? What will it do to this end?
