A Preliminary Perspective of Negotiations of EU–China PCA: A New Bottle Carrying Old Wine or New Wine or Both?

• Published date: 01 January 2009
• Date: 01 January 2009
• Author: Lingliang Zeng
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0386.2008.00453.x

A Preliminary Perspective of Negotiations

of EU–China PCA: A New Bottle

Carrying Old Wine or New Wine or Both?

Zeng Lingliang*

Abstract: The EU–China Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) is a rela-

tively new type of agreement between the EU and a third country, and its negotiation

and conclusion will bring about a new landscape for the comprehensive strategic part-

nership between the two sides. However, owing to the broadness, importance and com-

plexity of EU–China relations, and the unique multiple-level governance within the EU

itself, the negotiation and conclusion of the new PCA deems to be a hard and time-

consuming process. In light of the EU internal aspects, the new PCA seems to be related

to several treaty-making competences and procedures, thus probably with the form of a

mixed agreement as the final outcome. In terms of substantive issues, market access,

transparency, intellectual property rights, China’s full market economy status, aban-

donment of embargo on arms sales and high-tech trade, democracy, human rights, rule

of law, good governance and dispute settlement clauses, etc are all inevitably the tough

and core issues. Nevertheless, it is believed that both sides will strive to lay down a

systematic, stable and sustainable treaty law basis for a comprehensive EU–China stra-

tegic partnership in the spirit of seeking commonality, mutual respect and trust, and

equal consultation.

I Introduction

The launching of the negotiation and conclusion of a new EU–China Partnership and

Cooperation Agreement (EU–China PCA) is the strategic decision by leaders of both

sides on the bases of the consensus reached in recent years. Since the establishment of

the diplomatic relations between the EEC and China in 1975, on the whole, the bilateral

relations have been developing well, although there have been occasional ups and

* Faculty of Law, University of Macau. This article is the outcome of both the sub-project of the EU China

European Studies Centre Programme and Research on Important International Legal Issues in the

Chinese Peaceful Development under the Key Research Programmes in Human and Social Sciences

sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Thanks to the CERIC of University of Aix-Marseille III

for providing the research facilities. I especially owe my thanks to Professor Francis Snyder for his

constructive comments during our talks both in his office and at his home during my stay in Aix Provence

in the summer of 2007, his further comments, revisions and polish on the draft version and generous

provision for the forthcoming publications. However, this author is solely responsible for all views and any

mistakes in this article.

European Law Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, January 2009, pp. 121–141.

© 2009 The Author

Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK

and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA

downs,1especially after the setting up of the regular meetings by leaders of both sides

in 1998. In 2001, leaders from both sides jointly called for a push forward of the EU–

China comprehensive partnership.2

In 2003, the Chinese Government published its first policy paper toward the EU,

which explicitly points out that it is an important part of Chinese foreign policy to

strengthen and continuously to develop EU–China relations. And China is endeavour-

ing to build a comprehensive partnership between the EU and China with long stabil-

ity. Soon after, the title of the EU Commission’s paper toward China defined the

EU–China relationship as ‘a maturing partnership’.3Almost at the same time, leaders

of both sides at their sixth summit meeting agreed that the enhancement and expansion

of various kinds of dialogues and consultations at various levels had shown the growing

maturing of the EU–China partnership and its increasing strategic significance.4In the

seventh summit meeting, leaders of both sides confirmed that they would continue

actively to explore the feasibility of concluding a new PCA so as to meet the continuous

development of the EU–China relations in recent years.5

It was at the thirtieth anniversary of EU–China diplomatic relations in 2005 and in

the Joint Statement of the eighth summit Meeting where both sides hoped to develop

further the strategic partnership by concrete actions and agreed to trigger the negotia-

tion of a new EU–China framework agreement as soon as possible so as to reflect the

breadth and depth of the EU–China strategic partnership.6

At the following summit meeting, the EU–China leaders reached the consensus to

start the negotiation of the PCA, which would cover all aspects of the relationship

between the two sides, including cooperation in political affairs. They further agreed

that the new negotiation would update the present EC–China Trade and Economic

Cooperation Agreement 1985 (EC–China TECA 1985) and the new TECA would be

implemented in a separate way.7Afterwards, there followed 12 rounds of technical

consultations at the working level on this new initiative. On 12 June 2007, the

EU–China Mixed Committee on Economics and Trade announced the official com-

mencement of negotiating the revision of TECA 1985.8

The EU–China PCA will be a new milestone in the process of building a sustainable

strategic partnership between the two sides. This article, mainly from a legal perspective

1The most noticeable setback was the sanctions implemented by the EC against China as condemning the

military measures taken by the latter to crash down the ‘Tianman Square Event’ in 1989.

2See the Joint Press Statement of the Fourth Summit Meeting of the EU–China Leaders (September 2001),

para 3, available at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgmu/chn/xwdt/t365252.htm.

3Commission Policy Paper for Transmission to the Council and the European Parliament, A maturing

partnership—shared interests and challenges in EU–China relations COM (2003) 533 final (updating

the European Commission’s Communications on EU–China relations of 1998 and 2001), available at

http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/china/com_03_533/com_533_en.pdf.

4See the Joint Press Statement of the Sixth Summit Meeting of the EU–China Leaders (30 October 2003),

para 4, available at http://www.chinamission.be/chn/sgxx/t68500.htm.

5See the Joint Statement of the Seventh Summit Meeting of the EU–China Leaders (8 December 2004),

para 6, available at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/wjdt/1179/t173757.htm.

6See the Joint Statement of the Eighth Summit Meeting of the EU–China Leaders (5 September 2005),

paras 2 and 6, available at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/zxxx/t210460.htm.

7See the Joint Statement of the Ninth Summit Meeting of the EU–China Leaders (9 September 2006), paras

2 and 4, available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2006-09/10/content_5071191.htm.

8News Press Office of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Twenty-Second EU–China Mixed

Committee on Economics and Trade Reached Consensus on 12 Points (18 June 2007), available at

http://www.chinamission.be/chn/sgxx/t338288.htm.

European Law Journal Volume 15

© 2009 The Author

122 Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.