Disaggregating Chinese Perception of the EU and Implications for the EU’s China Policy
Project overview
As China grows in global power and influence, it is critically important for the European Union to forge a close and cooperative relationship with it. China is Europe’s biggest trade partner after the United States, and this year China is expected to overtake Japan as the world’s second largest economy after the US.
Both sides say they are committed to a comprehensive strategic partnership but EU-China ties have not always been smooth. The EU and China patched up their differences at a summit in Prague in May 2009 after Beijing cancelled an earlier summit over China’s opposition to a meeting between the Dalai Lama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy when France held the rotating EU presidency. Brussels ad Beijing have often disagreed over China’s human rights record.
At the Prague summit they pledged to work together to tackle the international financial crisis and to work for early global economic recovery and to deal with climate change. The relationship is complex, with over 24 sectoral dialogues and agreements in addition to regular political, trade and economic dialogue meetings. But despite all this, Europeans often find China hard to understand.
It is therefore crucial for Europeans to study more closely how Chinese people regard the EU. A better understanding of the opportunities and challenges in China will enable the EU institutions and nation states to develop an appropriate response to the rise of China as an economic and political giant. It will also enhance the ability of the EU and of European institutions in the economic, political, cultural, and educational sectors to take the necessary steps towards developing more effective relations with China.
The European Commission has commissioned this collaborative research project as part of its 7th framework programme. Led by the China Policy Institute (CPI), the research institute for the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, it will involve an intensive investigation into Chinese views of the EU.
Under the title “Disaggregating Chinese Perceptions of the EU and the Implications for the EU’s China Policy,” the project is being conducted by a consortium of six academic institutions from China and three European countries at a cost of € 1.4 million over three years.
The investigation will involve focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and questionnaire-surveys of the major segments of Chinese society, including the general public, government officials, intellectuals, businessmen, media workers, and activists in organized civil society. The research findings will be communicated to scientific and policy communities through a series of academic papers, policy papers, and briefs. To publicize project outcomes and promote academic communication among policy associates and other stakeholders, conferences and other dissemination events will be held in Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, and Beijing.
The other consortium members are the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Renmin University (China), Leiden University (Netherlands), Jacobs University Bremen (Germany), and the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London.
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