Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-29-Speech-4-156"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050929.21.4-156"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Mr President, I am happy to say that the scope of the debate which we are just concluding has gone much further than trade relations. The debate has confirmed that China is a powerful country, with 20% of the world's population, with a rapidly growing economy and a huge volume of international trade. China is a country which plays an increasingly important role in the world economy and also in international politics.
All the speakers raised legitimate concerns: the shortcomings of democracy; the vulnerability and fragility of human rights, including the rights of employees; the extremely low wages and the low environmental standards which make China very competitive. I assure you that the Commission is fully aware of these problems and furthermore we are aware of the serious impact of the Chinese model on other developing countries attempting to compete with China. They are forced into a race to the bottom; they are forced to lower their social and environmental standards, if they want to be competitive.
In dealing with China, a country of enormous potential and stark contradictions, the European Union has two options. The first is the schoolmaster attitude: to exert pressure on China to comply. I do not think that will work. The second is to establish a partnership, to cooperate with China and make it listen to our concerns and take them on board – to engage with China and not try to isolate it. This, I believe, is a promising option.
In 1985 the European Communities signed the first framework agreement with China, which was limited to trade relations. We have to appreciate the enormous changes in China; the political, economic and scientific development, unprecedented in such a relatively short period of 20 years. And the changes are accelerating. China has changed, and so have our relations.
We have achieved a breakthrough in different fields. I refer to the customs cooperation agreement, which will and should play an important role in combating counterfeiting. I refer to the dialogue on employment and social standards; the partnership on climate change; and the working group on intellectual property rights.
The recent summit confirmed that it is time to start negotiations on a new framework agreement. The Commission is seeking a mandate from the Council to start the talks as soon as possible. The new framework agreement will be much broader in scope than the first one signed 20 years ago, because it should reflect the changes in China and in our relations. It should work as an umbrella, covering all possible fields of cooperation. It should have a substantial trade and investment component, but it should also cover energy, political dialogue, social issues, human rights and a number of other fields. Through close cooperation, through a relationship based on partnership, we can encourage China to play an active role in addressing the global challenges. All the changes we want to promote and encourage serve the interests of the international community, the European Union and its Member States, but also serve the interests of China. That makes me optimistic."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples