Abstract
Chapter 3 exposes the first empirical case study of bilateral EU engagement with China on Africa. It provides an overview of the EU’s foreign policy towards China and the bilateral EU-China Strategic Partnership. Against this background, it examines how the EU engaged with China on a specific policy dialogue on Africa.
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Notes
- 1.
The EU also has a structured bilateral cooperation with Africa. As Chapter 5 will discuss in more detail the institutionalisation of the bilateral relationship between the EU and Africa – known as the EU-Africa Strategic Partnership – only emerged around 2007.
- 2.
For the purpose of conceptual clarity, it is important to highlight that this book refers to the notion of Strategic Partnership as the institutional architecture of EU-China bilateral relations. This concept should, however, not be confused with the notion of CSP which entails a specific meaning outlined in Chapter 2.
- 3.
Before the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU was represented at the annual EU-China summits by the country holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and the President of the European Commission.
- 4.
The original EU-China Strategic Dialogue was held at the level of the Chinese vice Foreign Minister, who met with an EU delegation composed of the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country holding the EU presidency and representatives from the Council Secretariat and the European Commission (Stumbaum 2009, 102).
- 5.
See the organisation chart of the bilateral EU-China architecture published by DG RELEX in 2005.
- 6.
The EU-China development dialogue was agreed at the 16th EU-China summit and its first meeting took place in March 2014.
- 7.
The MDGs represent eight international development goals that were established by the UN. The MDGs set concrete targets and indicators for poverty reduction. They were inspired by the UN Millennium Declaration, adopted at the Millennium Summit in 2000 (UN 2000).
- 8.
In order to get Europe back on a growth path, the EU recently established an Investment Plan for Europe (so-called Juncker Plan) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). China was the first non-EU country to support the Juncker Plan and to announce its support for the EFSI.
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Stahl, A.K. (2018). The Bilateral EU-China Dialogue on Africa. In: EU-China-Africa Trilateral Relations in a Multipolar World. The European Union in International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58702-2_3
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