Diversity, Pragmatism and Convergence: China, the European Union and the Issue of Sovereignty

Abstract

China and the European Union are stressing the depth and width of their maturing and comprehensive strategic partnership — at least in official statements.¹ A recent power audit, however, came up with a much more sobering assessment of the current state of affairs. Highly critical of the European approach of “unconditional engagement”, the authors highlighted the strong role of national governments and their inability to produce a coherent policy towards the rising power in the Far East.² Adding to the woes of the EU is the impact of the global financial and economic turmoil of 2008 that triggered a European sovereign debt crisis. As the EU struggled to handle the social, political and economic fallout, severe tensions within the highly integrated economic area emerged. National governments faced strong domestic expectations to show leadership. When the EU and the IMF had to step in to prevent a default of the Republic of Ireland, an outraged public decried the loss of national sovereignty, comparing Ireland and Greece with a “quasi-protectorate of the ECB, the IMF and the European Commission”,³ causing the Irish “founding fathers to turn in their graves”.⁴ The gap between European integration based on the deliberate transfer of sovereignty from national governments to a supranational body and public perception in the member states seemed to widen.