China Policy Blog
EU-China cooperation deepens 20 years after Tiananmen
 | The EU’s relations with China show deepening cooperation 20 years after the Tiananmen incident. Yiyi LU, a research fellow at the China Policy Institute, offers some reasons in this blog post.* Jul 20, 2009 |
In the early 1980s, China was considered to be one of the more advanced of the Communist states in terms of reform and there were high expectations of China leading the other Communist countries and setting a good example. When the Tiananmen incident happened, all of a sudden you got this major bloodshed. There was a sense of shock. Immediately the Europeans imposed economic sanctions on China and broke off high-level contact.
However, despite the shock and action taken after the events in Tiananmen Square, it wasn't long before the channels of dialogue were reopened between the Europeans and China.
Even in the immediate aftermath, it wasn't as though China was completely isolated because contact was necessary, given China's status. At first there was a decision by Europe as a whole to break off contact at the ministerial level but then exceptions were made for the United Kingdom and Portugal who were in negotiations with China over Hong Kong and Macau.
So, even at that time, the Europeans still needed to talk to China. Also, China was also one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It's one thing to isolate a small pariah state in the developing world but you need to be able to talk to countries like China who have such influence over global issues.
A major turning point came in 1992 when Deng Xiaoping took his famous southern tour of China's developing industrial areas and announced that he would speed up economic reforms and move China towards a market economy. This prompted the Chinese economy to expand, becoming a huge business opportunity and a temptation too great for western companies to resist.
The EU countries of course say they are concerned and serious about human rights, but it's also important to trade with China and to develop economic connections with China so one thing doesn't necessarily exclude the other. That's the official position.
But it’s complicated by the fact that the EU is not a single country; some members may be more concerned about particular issues, others may have different priorities, so it becomes complicated by not having one interest and one agenda – you have multiple issues and agendas.
The relationship is becoming more and more complex because, as China continues its ascension, there are many more areas in which the EU needs to work with China. Compared to 20 years ago, there are many more issues that the EU has to talk to China about and work together on, such as the economic crisis and climate change.
But this has also deepened the level of cooperation. In addition, both sides have also become more experienced at dealing with each other, knowing each other's strategies, expectations and constraints.
*This blog post is based on an interview Dr. Yiyi Lu gave to Deutsche Welle last month for its report (“EU's uneasy relationship with China endures 20 years”) marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen incident on 4 June 2009.
Post a comment
The China Policy Institute reserves the right to edit, moderate or reject any comment.* = Required information
