From March 22 to April 1st, President Xi Jinping paid his first visit to Europe. For 11 days, he travelled 19,615 kilometers, visited 4 countries, 8 cities, attended 90 events, and had his four articles published in the host countries’ major newspapers. His tight schedule and somewhat new approaches to public diplomacy have impressed the public for the pragmatic and innovative characters of “President Xi’s diplomacy.”
Yu Xiang
Over the past half-century, EU has been devoted to promoting European integration, but there are some debates on the function of the EU’s identity as an international actor and its influence on international and regional developments. US has even casted doubt on the effectiveness of US-EU cooperation. Evidenced in the fact that US President Obama was absent from a long-planned US-EU summit on May 2010, and the US–EU summit in 2011 lasted just two hours. But China views the EU based on a strategic perspective from the beginning. China attaches great importance to its relations with EU, as well as unwaveringly supports Europe’s integration and the Euro status. The fact that a big delegation of more than 200 businessmen went together with President Xi to Europe was a sign of a sincere desire to strengthen cooperation with Europe. President Xi’s first ever visit to the EU headquarters also demonstrated China’s willingness to see EU’s solidarity and self-improvement, as well as to illustrate better relations between China and EU as two forces, two markets, two civilizations which can surely benefit both sides as well as the world.
President Xi’s visit brings far-reaching influence on China-EU relations. The visit confirms that China and Europe are still very high on each other’s foreign policy agenda and will considerably institutionalize their cooperation.
At the 16th China-EU Summit, the two sides jointly adopted the “EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation.” The Agenda has four pillars: peace and security; economic prosperity; sustainable development; and people-to-people exchanges. During President Xi’s Europe tour, he reaffirmed the agenda as the guidance of future development of China-EU relations.
Regarding the first pillar of the 2020 Agenda, peace and security, the EU and China have both been proponents of the ideas of achieving peace through multilateralism, and have actively worked towards that end. Cyber security, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, piracy, and the recent Ukraine crisis all highlight the urgency of China-EU cooperation, resulting in a more serious requirement on the political and security role of China and EU.
The second pillar on economic cooperation is the traditional cornerstone of China-EU relations. Although there were some disputes over solar panels, solar panel components, mobile technology, as well as wine issues, China and the EU managed to consolidate their trade relations before the disputes escalated. President Xi’s visit is helpful to restore trust and to further expand the intersection of the economic relations. The negotiation of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) is expected to be promoted, which is important for China and EU. China also regards the BIT as a prequel to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the future. EU is consolidating its institutional framework of overseeing Chinese investment and facilitating access of European investments in the Chinese market. It will be the first stand-alone investment agreement negotiated by EU based on the competences gained under the Lisbon Treaty. Moreover, China has proposed a baronial conception to build the twenty-first Century Maritime Silk Road and Silk Road Economic belt. The EU’s strategic goal is to build FTA covering areas from Lisbon to Vladivostok, which converges with China’s “One road and One belt” strategy. If the two sides could work together in better connecting the Asia and Europe markets, it will enrich the idea of the Eurasian Continental integration and benefit all the people involved.
Sustainable urban development provides core incentives for the cooperation between China and EU regarding the third pillar. The two sides have established an official Partnership on Urbanization. On March 2014, China unveiled the Urbanization Plan 2014-2020, a project for the restructuring of the Chinese economy and society as a whole. China seeks to learn from the EU on sustainable urbanization. EU also considers itself a stakeholder in China’s sustainable development and is willing to help China build capacities for the urbanization challenges ahead.
President Xi emphasized the need for cultural diversity and for people to learn from different civilizations, as he said “I am traveling to Europe to promote peace, cooperation, experience sharing and mutual-learning between civilizations.” So the forth pillar, people-to-people exchange and cultural diplomacy, will contribute to enhancing the comprehensive strategic partnership and overcoming the divides in terms of the mutual perception and the different norms and values that have burdened the current generations.
What we can observe from President Xi’s visit to Europe is also his vision on how to pursue the “Chinese Dream.” On several occasions, he stressed that China is making orderly progress in reform, in democracy, social harmony and stability, and casting away the fears that China’s reform will be thwarted by difficulties and pressure. Responding to the concerns that it’s hard for China to escape the “Thucydides trap,” President Xi said, “Today, the lion has woken up. But it is peaceful, pleasant and civilized.” On the issues concerning China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he also gave China’s bottom line by making it clear, “We do not stir up trouble, but we are never timid, and will resolutely safeguard China’s legitimate rights and interests.”
Hearing President Xi’s speeches, we can also figure out that China’s vision of future international relations, that is, that great powers should take common responsibilities for the world affairs and all countries should share the common interests, self-regulate and develop their economies, while respecting each other’s culture and development mode. Unlike what some western media have commented, President Xi’s European visit is not intended to balance the power between China and the US by having a stake in Europe. In fact, we have seen much more frequent interactions between China and US recently. The China-US BIT negotiation is under way. US and China are now working together with Australia, Malaysia and some other countries in searching for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight. Before leaving for Europe, President Xi and his wife warmly welcomed the First Lady Michelle Obama in Beijing. Ahead of the Third Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, President Xi had a meeting with President Obama. They both pledged cooperation and to exchange views on issues ranging from bilateral relations, anti-terrorism cooperation to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and the Ukraine crisis. China is showing sincerity for cooperation with both the US and EU, which will contribute to building trust and benefit the whole world.
Yu Xiang is an Associate Fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
