Reclaiming the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Through the EU–China Partnership and Cooperation Agreement: Taking Stock and Moving Forward

Abstract

This chapter traces the evolution of the EU–China strategic partnership, explores the role of a PCA in this partnership, and investigates major challenges facing the two parties for its successful conclusion. This chapter will focus on two dimensions of the proposed partnership: political and security; trade and economy. In the context of the political and security dimension, this chapter addresses the troubling relationship between sovereignty and human rights and the EU’s call for China’s collaboration in building a rules-based international order and advancing effective multilateralism. In the trade and economic dimension, this chapter examines China’s pursuit of MES and the EU’s demand for a transparent, open and predicable regulatory environment in China. This chapter then points to the difficulties in issue linkages or human rights prioritisation in the PCA negotiations, and probes whether a comprehensive investment agreement (CAI) constitutes a satisfactory alternative to the PCA.