Beijing, 22/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner Chris Patten arrived in China on Monday to take part in the ministerial meetings taking place this week between the EU Troika and the Chinese government, followed by a meeting of heads of state from the 25 ASEM countries. This five day visit coincides with Louis Michel's visit, (Belgium's Foreign Minister) which is largely part of the run-up to Belgium holding the next EU Presidency.
The meeting between the EU Troika (which Mr Michel will also be attending) on Thursday - the current President of the Council, Anna Lindh (Sweden), the High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, and Mr Patten - and the Chinese leader Tang Jiaxuan will largely concentrate on preparing for the EU/China Summit on 5/6 September 2001, an extremely important event for the equilibrium of the world, which Belgium is happy to be hosting (according to Louis Michel), which may strengthen EU/China relations. (It's in the lap of the Gods, said Mr Michel.) The aim is to enhance the visibility of the "Union" in Asia, but the parties will also be discussing the effectiveness of the informal dialogue between the EU and the ten ASEM countries (seven ASEAN countries, along with China, Japan and South Korea).
The backdrop to the strengthening of EU/China relations is, as the European Commission pointed out in its new Communication in this connection (see EUROPE of 14/15 May, p. 15), and as the Council conclusions to prepare for the annual United Nations' Commission on Human Rights meeting also pointed out, concrete progress in terms of human rights, which is still viewed with deep distrust by the Chinese. Mr Patten will stress this at his meeting (as part of the Troika) with his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan. Mr Michel arrived in China a few days ahead of Mr Patten and has already raised the human rights issue when speaking to CEIBS students in Shanghai, the first international trade school in China, created in 1994 as a joint venture with the financial aid of the Chinese Ministry of Trade and the European Commission. The EU is clearly determined and interested in making China a partner or a true "friend", wants to turn the single party state into a multi party state, and will continue to raise the issue of basic liberties and human rights, but will take a non-confrontational line, using discretion in the regular political dialogue it managed to instigate with China in 1996 and which it hopes to "reorganise and reorient".
Messrs Patten and Michel concentrate on human rights
Chris Patten wrote in an article published in the International Herald Tribune that there is already good news for Europe and China and more good news is to come. He gave a rosy picture of EU/Chinese relations but did not fail to mention the numerous areas of deep concern for the EU, such as how political dissidents and religious groups are treated and the fact that China executes more people than any other country in the world. He stressed that simply talking about human rights was clearly not enough - results are more important. Louis Michel believes that EU/Chinese relations should be very positive if political discussions progress and lead to results, although as long as there are great differences on the political level … it will be difficult to become the second, third or even fourth table leg. He added that the current international political scene could be likened to a table which only had one leg and needed more legs to achieve stability. Mr Michel believes that there is vacuum for the European Union to take on a world role, for a reweighting of the geographical equilibrium, adding in his speech to Chinese students that an enlarged European Union would be a more powerful and more representative partner. He explained that Europe was at a turning point, asking plenty of questions and in the process of fundamental change. He said that there was now a real opportunity to cement EU/Chinese relations and make the world multipolar. If the EU wants to impose its values on China, doesn't it fear a negative impact? Louis Michel was reassuring, saying that the EU had no hidden agenda and would not be trying to convince Chinese bureaucrats to learn about the EU's way of thinking… That is not how friends behave, he added. In its message to Beijing, the EU also incorporates the idea of "difference" and when inviting China to cross the existing political divide, Mr Michel said that he did not expect agreement on everything but should agree to let time play its part. When visiting the Great Wall of China, he was a little more explicit, talking about convergence on the basic rights of the individual. In terms of a possible US reaction to closer EU/China relations, the future acting President of the EU refused to comment. In the diplomatic language of Chris Patten, "the importance of the US/China relationship does not negate that of Europe-China relations. Nor must the European Union view its relations with China through a transatlantic prism."