TIGHTENING THE EU-CHINA RELATIONSHIP

TERRA INCOGNITA

As was voiced at the inaugural conference, it can hardly be overlooked that China became a prominent power in a remarkable short period of time. Consequently, it’s playing an increasingly important role in the international debate about global governance and sustainable development. During his introduction speech, Prof. Dr. Jan Wouters spoke of a shift in the EU-China relationship from a bilateral level towards a dialogue on the international scene. Nevertheless, the gaps in the European understanding of China were repeatedly stressed by the conference’ speakers. Likewise, Prof. Dr. Bart De Moor, vice-rector of international policy at the K.U.Leuven, underlined that Europe, in some way, still is ‘terra incognita’ for the Chinese. The two chairs create the opportunity to establish a mutually beneficial co-operation; their aim is to contribute to a qualitative dialogue between European and Chinese scholars and policy-makers and ultimately to improve their partnership.

BETTER WORLD

Ambassador Song Zhe, one of the most eminent speakers of the conference, opened the debate about the political challenges for China and the EU in the near future. His focus on China as a civilization of peace and harmony sounded somewhat superficial without critical notes of any kind. The ambassador concluded his opening words by defining the deepening of the co-operation with the EU as a way ‘to build a better world for mankind’. The other speakers counterbalanced the very optimistic words of the ambassador by voicing more realistic views. Prof. Dr. Zhimin, specialized in China’s foreign policy, pointed out the many differences both partners will have to cope with in order to establish a fruitful co-operation. Very appealing was the contribution of Prof. Bruynickx about the position of China towards global environmental governance. He emphasized the ambiguous way in which the Chinese are approaching the Copenhagen objectives and concluded with asking if China ‘is willing to become a climate changing super power’. The speakers outlined a lot of upcoming challenges, but when it came to listing solutions, most of them kept silent.

Interest in Chinese matters is also growing on the level of the students. The newly inaugurated Inbev-Latour chair co-ordinates no less than four new courses about China at K.U.Leuven. From this year on, the students of the faculties of Social Sciences (China and Global Politics), Law (Chinese law from a European perspective), Economics (The Economics of China) and Philosophy (East-West perspectives on philosophy) can profit from the enlarged offer. Next to that, some 150 students study Sinology at the K.U.Leuven this academic year. In the fuss caused by the conference, some Belgian students saw the perfect opportunity to strengthen relationships with their Chinese colleagues, who form the second largest population of international students in Leuven. The student organisation of Group T, Industria, gathered the Chinese engineering students and Belgian sinology students at the same table to enjoy a delicious Chinese meal. The initiative turned out to be a great success and both groups decided to meet up more often. Next time, Belgian fries with mayonnaise will be on the menu. |