EU's new political leadership is opportunity to 'reset' agenda for EU-China relations, says former MEP Ford

Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday (7 January), former MEP Glyn Ford (pictured) also warned of the "dangers" if the EU fails to sign an investment agreement with China.

Negotiations on the wide-ranging treaty were launched in March 2014 but have since become bogged down.

Ford, an MEP for 25 years and now director of POLINT, a Brussels-based consultancy, told a debate on China's economic outlook for 2015 that issues such as labour rights, health and safety in the workplace and environmental protection would need to be addressed before the agreement can be signed.

But he also said the installation of a new European Commission was an opportunity to "resent the agenda" for the sometimes tense relationship between the EU and China.     Ford, a Socialist MEP from 1984 to 2009, said: "We need to change the mindset of the new commission so that the EU has a single China policy rather than two or three separate ones."

Helping to affect such a change would involves China's Mission to the EU as well as Chinese companies in Europe, argued Ford, who was one of the keynote speakers at a two-hour debate organized by the China Daily newspaper.

Another speaker, Jiang Xiaoyan, spokesman for the Mission of China to the EU, outlined the economic outlook for the China for the coming year, which she believes gives grounds for "optimism".

Jiang, who is also an economist, told the meeting that 2015 would see continued slower economic growth in China than in recent years, albeit it a rate of between 7-7.3%.

Reasons for optimism are rooted in the "booming" tertiary/services sector, which is growing at a rate of 10% per year, faster than manufacturing, and the still-expanding urbanization drive.

Domestic demand will continue to grow, she predicts, and the Chinese government will "redouble" its efforts to build a "law-based" economy which, among other things, will reduce costs for enterprises.

"These all give grounds for optimism but there will still be financial risks although I believe these can be controlled which is good news for EU-China relations," said the diplomat.

The event, 'European Insights on China Development Outlook in 2015 and Beyond', drew together a range of speakers who are experts on China in their respective fields.     The lively and provocative discussion heard that Beijing-inspired initiatives such as the  Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk  Road would help China establish new trading links with the rest of the world.

However, Duncan Freeman, of the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, questioned whether China was still a priority for the EU's new leadership and if China-led initiatives such as the Silk Road project were "fully appreciated" in Brussels.  He said: "According to some estimates, China is now the world's biggest economy but I just wonder if China is a priority for the EU. If is not, that will be a great pity because what happens in China is important and clearly matters for all of us," he declared.

A further intervention came from German Socialist MEP Jo Leinen, who chairs the European Parliament´s delegation for relations with China. He said the debate, coming at the start of a year which marks the 40th anniversary of EU/Sino relations, was a "good opportunity" to take stock on relations between the two economic giants.

"We will certainly need to address some difficult issues, such as market access to China for European companies, but we are going to have a big chance in 2015 for increased cooperation between the two sides," said Leinen.

Share this article: