European Union updates strategy for dealing with China

Brussels announced it was updating its strategy in dealing with Beijing, a partner which it says is rapidly increasing its international influence and should be more closely engaged.

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission issued a Joint Communication on Wednesday entitled "Elements for a new EU strategy on China", which maps out the European Union's relationship with China for the next five years.

The EU should pursue an ambitious agenda of cooperation with China. "China's needs are as great as ours and failure to cooperate also brings adverse consequences for China," the paper was cited as saying.

Brussels announced the changes prior to the forthcoming summit in Beijing in the first half of July and European Commission said the elements in the paper can be used to prepare the summit.

The European Commission's last Communication on China was adopted a decade ago in 2006. Brussels says the EU and China have both undergone considerable changes since then and China has a stronger presence in all regions of the world, economically and politically.

"This new reality calls for a fresh EU narrative that recognize the need to deal with these new developments. The EU's new strategy therefore sets out to promote EU interests and underline EU values in its relationship with China for the next five years," the paper was cited as saying.

Federica Mogherini, the High Representative and Vice-President of European Commission said: "The European Union and China already cooperate on so much...and the Joint Communication that we have adopted today will, I am sure, enable our relationship to fulfill its clear potential."