Developments in the EU-China Political Dialogue in the Global Context
Emil Kirchner, University of Essex
(Joint paper with Thomas Christiansen)
The aim of the paper will be to assess the current EU-China political dialogue by comparing the objectives stipulated in the European Union and China Strategic Partnership with the impact of current developments in both the European and the wider the global contexts. A number of issues areas can be seen as currently affecting the EU-China political dialogue such as the Eurozone debt crisis, the Arab Spring, the alleged Iranian nuclear build-up, the leadership change in North Korea, and the peace-building process in Afghanistan. Do the EU and China have converging or diverging views on these issue areas, and if the latter, what are the likely impacts on the EU-China political dialogue? Are we entering a phase in which already existing frictions between the EU and China, such as over the continued EU arms embargo on China or the differences over Tibetan autonomy, become strained further? The paper will distinguish between the agency on either side and the structural factors impacting on the EU-China political relationship.