US and European Approaches to China

The rising economic, political, and military power of the People's Republic of China (PRC) presents a variety of policy challenges to the United States and Europe. How those challenges are met, and whether mutually reinforcing approaches can be crafted, will have a significant impact upon international stability, US and European security interests, and the future of China itself.

For a variety of historical, cultural, geopolitical, and economic reasons, Europe and the United States have exhibited divergent attitudes and approaches toward the PRC. Of particular note in this regard are national security matters.

The United States has over the years had serious concern about China as a potential security problem, while Europe in general has focused on political and commercial relations. Of course, European nations have differed among themselves regarding China, and recent efforts to develop a common European foreign and security policy through the European Union have added another layer of complexity to the Europe-China relationship.

Europeans have tended to view the PRC within the context of their own historical perspective and current national interests. Thus the United Kingdom, even though a close US ally in general, was one of the first nations to recognize Communist China at a time when the United States was seeking actively to isolate Beijing internationally. Because of its own long-standing involvement with China, as well as its special interest in the then colony of Hong Kong, London chose its own distinct approach to dealing with Beijing.

Europeans have sought a positive relationship with the PRC for a variety of reasons. For some nations, such as France in recent years, there has been an interest in developing counterweights to US power and global influence. Thus in January 2004 the then French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, called China a "special partner," and President Jacques Chirac of France even went to the point in 2004 of proposing a strategic vision that included a European partnership with China, as well as with Russia, to ensure an international balance of power.

Some European nations have also been motivated by the potential for enhancing their commercial position in the potentially vast Chinese market. Such nations have made great efforts to persuade China that they are politically friendly and should, therefore, receive economic benefits. Germany, for example, has tended in recent years to downplay PRC human rights issues in favor of enhanced commercial ties with Beijing.

Because European nations have all but disengaged from the Asian region militarily, it is perhaps not surprising that Asia-related security issues have not been a significant concern. On occasion, such as a May 2001 EU delegation visit to North Korea, some interest in the region's security issues has been exhibited. However, with respect to China itself, Europeans have not exhibited any noticeable security-related concerns. This is consistent with the reality that many Europeans believe that the best way to ensure a future democratic and nonthreatening China is to engage as much as possible on all levels with that nation.

As it has begun in recent years to formulate formal foreign and security policies, the EU has developed its own approaches regarding China. At the same time, the line dividing traditional national, foreign, and security policies from EU policies is still not completely clear, and national governments reserve many key policy functions for themselves in the international arena. However, a pattern is emerging whereby national governments set and encourage bilateral policies in areas such as trade and foreign investment in China. The EU, on the other hand, sets out broad policy approaches and represents the EU members in negotiations and framework agreements on such areas as economic interaction between EU members and China.

As early as 1988, the EU established a formal overall structure for its relationship with China, focusing primarily on economic and political matters. More recently, in 1995, the EU established a formal China policy for what it called a "maturing partnership" with the PRC.

In contrast to Europe, there has been a significant security component to the variegated and complex US-PRC relationship over the past decades. As a result...