” “Question of time” “

The sixth summit between China and the European Union was held in Beijing on 30 October. The European leaders and the President of the Chinese People’s Republic, Hu Jintao, reaffirmed their joint commitment to the promotion of peace, security and sustainable development in the world, and pronounced their support for a reinforced role of the UNO to this end. The two sides expressed their satisfaction about the results of the dialogue on human rights, and pledged to continue along the path of equality and reciprocal respect. At the summit, discussion focused, among other things, on environmental protection, justice, trade and internal affairs. To better understand the future of relations between EU and China, and Beijing’s political influence on the world scene, we put some questions to Simon Petermann , head of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Liège. The Chinese growth rate of some 8% per year is accompanied by the constant expansion of Chinese firms: have European businesses anything to fear? “At the present time, European businesses have no reason to fear in any way the competition of Chinese firms, which, with a few exceptions, are far from competitive. The danger is posed rather by the possible relocation of European firms in China, where manpower is cheap. Today there are several different Chinas: the China of the seaboard, of the cities, of the countryside, and their rates of development are very different”. May present-day China be considered a political giant, capable of influencing international relations, or only a demographic giant, and a potential economic giant in the near future? “China is not a political giant, in spite of the fact that it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and therefore, theoretically, able to influence international relations by exercising, for instance, its right of veto. At the present time one can speak of China as a regional power, with which its neighbouring countries have to come to terms. In the years ahead, however, China could become a major power if it continues to develop at the same rate as today; only on condition, however, that it succeeds in managing its demographic growth and the economic and social problems that are its consequence”. Should the EU subordinate its own relations with China to complete democratisation or accompany the transition to democracy without this affecting trade relations? “It is impossible to subordinate relations with China to complete democratization. China is not a small state on which pressure can be exerted. China, moreover, is in the midst of a capitalist revolution and is opening itself increasingly to Western influence. The centralized and rigid political system will have to progressively adapt itself and will end up becoming democratic: it’s a question of time”.