On 13 October, the EU Council meeting in Luxembourg adopted conclusions on the policy paper on developing European Union-China relations, presented by the European Commission with a view to the Beijing Summit on 30 October. The same day, Beijing presented its first strategy paper on relations with the Union, above all calling on the EU to abolish anti-dumping and "other policies and practices that discriminate against China", and to lift its embargo on arms sales to China (see EUROPE of 14 October, pages 12 and 13). The full text of the Council's conclusions is published in our EUROPE/Documents series.
EU/CHINA: COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON COMMISSION'S POLICY PAPER
A maturing partnership - shared interests and challenges in EU-China relations
1. In the context of the preparation of the sixth EU-China Summit in Beijing on 30 October 2003, where the EU will meet for the first time at the highest level with the new leadership appointed in March 2003, the Council recalled that the draft European Security Strategy of June 2003 recognises China as a major partner of the EU. The European Union and China, in light of their prominent international role and their increasing political and economic weight, have an interest to work together to promote global stability, peace and sustainable development. The Council welcomed the fact that China will produce its first-ever strategy paper on its relations with the EU. The Council noted with appreciation China's commitment to setting the stage for the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme and in bringing the process forward. The role that China thus has assumed illustrates how its perception of the world is changing as it gets further integrated into the global community. The Council encouraged Chinese engagement in resolving further regional issues, in particular the current political situation in Burma/Myanmar.
2. The Council, with reference to its conclusions of June 1998 and June 2001 and in view of the above, welcomed the Commission's policy paper "A maturing partnership - Shared interests and challenges in EU-China relations" and endorsed the general thrust of the analysis and recommendations proposed in the paper.
3. The Council agreed that the EU should make better use of the existing EU-China dialogue framework, adopted in June 2002, to pursue the Union's interests both in China and globally. The Council underscored that Chinese participation at presidential level would very much contribute to the success of EU-China Summits. The EU should improve co-operation with China on multilateral issues and transnational challenges. This would include support for a peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. It would also include co-operation in multilateral fora, especially at the UN, on issues including peacekeeping, conflict prevention and confidence building, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, arms control, disarmament and terrorism as well as discussion of global environmental issues. The Council also encouraged enhanced co-operation in regional fora such as ASEM or the ASEAN Regional Forum. In order to achieve more coherence and effectiveness, EU Member States should closely co-ordinate their foreign policy towards China.
4. The Council underlined that supporting the transition to an open society based upon the rule of law and the respect for human rights is an essential element of the EU's policy towards China. It therefore recommended establishing the EU-China dialogue on human rights at the appropriate political level on an ad hoc basis, while preserving the existing contacts at working level. This should enhance political impact and visibility while maintaining the capacity for reviewing progress on the ground.
5. The Council acknowledged the progress linked to China's remarkable economic growth in reducing poverty. The Council welcomed recent efforts by the Chinese Government to put stronger emphasis on sustainability and social issues such as education and health care. While acknowledging also improvements in relation to the establishment of the rule of law and the development of the legal system, the Council remained concerned about the significant gap still existing between the current human rights situation in China and the internationally accepted standards, in particular with respect to civil and political rights, freedoms of speech, assembly, religion, belief and the rights of persons belonging to minorities. As far as Tibet is concerned, the Council encouraged the continuation of the dialogue between the Chinese authorities and representatives of the Dalai Lama. The Council deplored the frequent and extensive application of the death penalty and the persisting practice of re-education through labour. The Council urged China to ratify the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to take measures to improve the situation of human rights and rule of law on the ground. The Council stressed the importance of promoting contacts and dialogue between European and Chinese civil society. The Council further encouraged China to adhere to the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court.
6. The Council reaffirmed that the EU continues its One China Policy and called for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue through constructive dialogue.
7. The Council stressed its intention to continue to follow the situation in Hong Kong and Macao closely.
8. The Council agreed that, in promoting China's economic opening, the EU's priorities should be to work together to ensure success of the Doha Development Agenda especially after Cancun, closely monitor and assist China's compliance with its WTO commitments and ensure that a proper monitoring of new regional agreements with WTO-compatibility is enforced within the adequate WTO committees. The Council stressed also the need to ensure the smooth development of the bilateral trade relations. The Council welcomes the launching of new sectorial dialogues in the fields of industrial policy, regional policy, competition policy, intellectual property rights, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, education and human resources development and agreements on nuclear research co-operation and customs co-operation. The Commission is invited to fully associate the Council to these dialogues and to provide the Council with detailed information on the progress thereof. Furthermore, the early signing of an "Authorised Destination Status" agreement to facilitate Chinese tourism in the EU is a major priority. So too is the agreement on EU-China co-operation under the EU's Galileo programme for global satellite navigation.
9. The Council expressed its support for the Chinese reform process and welcomed the preparedness of the Chinese leadership to further deepen the reforms in key areas such as the financial system and state-owned enterprises, which are critical issues in the development of a well-functioning market economy. Institutional reforms, such as the development of the legal and judiciary framework, are the heart of the reform process. The Council welcomed the intention of the Commission to further develop its co-operation with China in support of the reform process and noted with satisfaction the growing involvement of Member States in different aspects of the process.
10. The Council agreed that the dialogue with China on illegal immigration should be more results-oriented and underlined the importance of concluding soon an agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants. The Council also stressed the importance of an early launch of an EU-China technical assistance project in this field.
11. The Council reconfirmed the strategic objectives underpinning the EU co-operation programme with China and agreed on the opportunity to prepare a new national indicative programme for 2005/2006. In this framework, coordination between the Commission, member states, and other international donors should be enhanced.
12. The Council welcomed the Commission's proposals on ways to enhance the EU's profile in China and underlined the importance of people-to-people contacts in order to achieve a stronger mutual relationship.