On Monday (28 May) the European Union Troika met a delegation from the People's Republic of China in Hamburg Town Hall for consultations immediately prior to the 8th ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting.
The Chinese Delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the EU delegation was led by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Troika also comprised Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, and Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Manuel Lobo Antunes, the Portuguese State Secretary for European Affairs, also attended on behalf of the upcoming Portuguese EU Presidency.
At the press conference following the talks, Foreign Minister Steinmeier underscored the importance of the dense network of ties that now form the basis of European-Chinese relations. As he said, the foreign ministers of the EU and China meet twice a year under the strategic partnership established in 2003 – and that's just the foreign ministers. The negotiations on a partnership and cooperation agreement had additionally been launched this January.
Steinmeier said that the talks had focused on current international issues. As regards the Iranian nuclear issue, they had agreed to further raise the pressure on Iran to comply with UN and IAEA demands, whilst also urgently pursuing a diplomatic solution.
They also had an intensive debate on global issues such as global warming and energy security. The German Foreign Minister expressed his hope that crucial progress on a follow-up regime to the Kyoto Protocol could be made before the Bali Conference in December. He welcomed the fact that China had offered to discuss the issue again in the course of the year.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi stressed the huge potential inherent in EU-China relations on an equal footing, and stated that further developing such relations was above all in line with long-term strategic considerations. On the issue of climate and environment policy, China shared the Europeans' concerns, he said. At the same time Yang spoke out in favour of balancing environmental considerations with the requirements of development, as is particularly important for emerging economies.
High Representative Solana talked about the exchange of views on other international issues, including North Korea, Iran and Kosovo, and thanked the Chinese side for its support for his envisaged talks in the coming days with the Iranian side on the nuclear question. EU External Relations Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner noted the many trade links between China and the EU, but went on to say that the EU continues to have a large trade deficit which has to be reduced. She also noted that the EU had once again "clearly raised" the human rights situation in China during the most recent round of the EU-China human rights dialogue in Berlin a few days ago.
The upcoming Portuguese EU Presidency said that the Troika was "very helpful" for its preparations for the next EU-China summit, which will take place during the Portuguese EU Presidency.
