Europe and China: Cooperation with Complex Legal Dimensions

This article aims to evaluate legal aspects of the content and implementation of the 'strategic partnership' between the EU and the People's Republic of China. In the absence of a category of 'emerging countries' in international economic law, the Union must adapt its foreign policy with regard to this major economic and commercial power.
This article aims to evaluate legal aspects of the content and implementation of the 'strategic partnership' between the EU and the People's Republic of China. In the absence of a category of 'emerging countries' in international economic law, the Union must adapt its foreign policy with regard to this major economic and commercial power.
Relations between the European Community and China are currently governed by a second-generation agreement signed in 1985. However, a new dynamic has been set in motion since 2003, by the drawing up of preparatory documents by both parties and joint declarations at annual summits bearing on the 'strategic partnership'. Seen in a long-term perspective, this partnership helps provide a measure of predictability in relations between the two partners, through combining elements of 'soft law' and 'hard law'.
The insertion of political dialogue into the strategic partnership seems to alter the coherence of the Union, notably with regard to the difficulties of implementing the dialogue on human rights. The added value of the partnership lies essentially in its economic and commercial aspects, through not only the putting into place of nonbinding 'economic dialogues' which cover a large spectrum of the relationship, but also by the multiplication of sector-based accords in numerous areas (maritime transport, customs cooperation, etc.). This constant development has thus allowed parties, at the last annual summit, to envisage the conclusion of a new framework agreement. The Commission in December 2005 was then given the mandate to conclude a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
The present paper will sketch out a forecast of the legal framework, measured against the yardsticks of Asia regional reconfiguration and the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The commercial risks of the relationship could imply the integration of the domains known as 'WTO plus' into the future agreement, notably the domains of investments and intellectual property rights, it would involve a mixed agreement1. That being the case, the negotiations risk to be fragile at the political level, in particular concerning the insertion of a clause of democratic conditionality in the future agreement. Any clash between the values and the interests of the EU and China would be uncomfortably highlighted during negotiations.
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Europe and China: Cooperation with Complex Legal Dimensions
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programsFind out more
Discover all our analysesSri Lanka’s NPP Government. From System Change to Structural Compliance
In September 2024, a relative outsider to Sri Lanka’s two-party-dominated political system, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, won the presidential elections. The anti-establishment, populist movement he represented, the National People’s Power (NPP), went on to receive an overwhelming mandate in the November 2024 general elections, winning 159 seats in a 225-member parliament.
Japan Under Trump: Alliance Strains, the Push for Autonomy and Essential Partnerships
Japan is under pressure from the United States (US) on punitive tariffs and demands for increased defence spending. This has sparked deep concern over US credibility and triggered growing domestic calls for greater autonomy.
Quest for Strategic Autonomy? Europe Grapples with the US - China Rivalry
Building on the 2020 European Think Tank Network on China (ETNC) report, which assessed Europe’s positioning amid the strategic rivalry between the United States and China, this edition re-examines the geopolitical landscape in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House. This report features 22 national chapters and one dedicated to the EU, analysing the evolution of Europe’s relations with Washington and Beijing, the range of approaches to dealing the US-China rivalry and how these are expected to evolve.

France seeks third way between US and China in Southeast Asia
The French leader sent a message of partnership but gave few concrete details on sustained engagement plans.