Chinese Journal of European Studies No.3 ,2009

ARTICLES

1  Introspection on Sino-European Relationship in the Year 2008

Project Team of IES,CASS

The year 2008 was an eventful one for Sino-European relationship. In contrast to the previous state of Sino-European relationship where frictions between the two sides lay mainly in the area of economy and trade,confrontations in the political field became more intensified than ever. Centering their focus on the "3•14" riots in Lhasa,some European statements publicly gave supports to "Tibet Independence" and called for a boycott to the Beijing Olympic Games,which resulted finally in the forced delay of the 11th China-EU Summit which should have been held in 2008. However,relatively significant progresses have still been achieved in the economic and trade relationship between China and Europe,although continuous conflicts always exist in this area. Totally speaking,in spite of the disturbance of political factors,the Sino-European relationship still remains essentially stable. Premier Wen Jiabao's "Journey of Confidence"to Europe in early 2009 has brought a new turning point to further enhancing Sino-European relationship.

22  An Exploration on China's Trade Surplus with Europe

ZHANG Yongan YANG Fengmin

In the 21st Century,trade between China and Europe and that between China and the EU has been acclerating rapidly and China has built up a huge trade surplus with Europe,which is still growing at a high speed. This paper points out that this situation should be analyzed from a number of perspectives. In recent years,along with the increase of capital stock and advancement of technologies in China,high-tech labor has already exerted an important influence in China's exports,but it has not changed China's traditional comparative advantages. The development of China by deploying foreign investment not only makes the foreign-owned companies occupy an indispensable place in China's trade towards Europe,but plays a role in the process of substituting trade by investment. The EU should make wide-ranging policy adjustments related to China's market economy status,anti-dumping,intellectual property rights protection and technical barriers so as to promote the healthy development of Sino-European trade.

36  The "Tibet Issue" in Sino-German Relations and Its Historical Origin

ZHAO Guangrui

The great concerns and deep misunderstandings the western public shows towards Tibet have a profound historical and mental origin,that is,the "myth of Shangri-La" about old Tibet. The expedition of German explorers in Tibet,whose travel writings and memoirs created a German "myth of Tibet" and gave a highly colored account of China's "negative image",was the major way through which the Germans kept contact with Tibet before the Second World War. It deeply affected the Germans' mental structure concerning the Tibet issue. In view of this we should pay more attention to the "foundational" work,thus smashing the "myth of Shangri-La" by effective ways and telling the western public a true Tibet.

52  Whither the "Strategic Partnership":from the perspective of EU-NATO Relation

ZHANG Ming

This paper intends to analyze the transatlantic security relations from the perspectives of the EU-NATO relations. The author holds that the emergence of the EU as a new security actor has not only broadened and changed its own original identity,but promoted the reconfiguration of the transatlantic security structures. The development of the EU-NATO relations is not only vital to both institutions,but exerts far-reaching effects as to security and politics. Although the EU-NATO relations are among the most important elements that shape the future American-European relations as well as the transatlantic security configuration,it still has a long way to go to truly realize the so-called strategic partnership.

68  "Development-Security Nexus":the African Policies of China,EU and USA

ZHANG Chun

After the end of the Cold War,and especially after the "9•11" event,there exists a tendency of   increasingly deepening interdependence between development and security,embodied in the securitization of development and developmentalization of security. Thus,the concept of "development-security nexus" has been given birth and become widespread. Deeply concerned about the Sino-African relations,the western countries begin to make use of the "development-security nexus" concept as a means to pressure China to cooperate with them on issues related to Africa. At the same time,the rapid development of Sino-African relationship also calls for Chinese policy-makers and researchers to explore the potentials of both conflict and coordination among China,USA and EU on African issues from the perspective of "development-security nexus". Generally speaking,China pursues a policy emphasizing both development and security,the EU is undergoing a transition of policy focus from development to security,while the USA has strengthened its focus on security in its African policy. Although the fact that different approaches exist as to the African policies of the three actors perhaps means the potential of more conflicts,it also implies more space for coordination as well,which could provide a new engine for both the Sino-African and for the China-USA-EU relations.

91  On the Concepts of Formal and Informal International Regimes

LIU Hongsong

This article points out the methodological weaknesses in Krasner's behavioral definition of international regime,justifies the plausibility of the definition according to formalistic criteria,and then redefines the related concept. On the basis of the above analysis,it differentiates between formal and informal international regimes conceptually and provides the criteria to determine them. This article concludes that whether the members have the intention to create a relationship with legally-binding rights and obligations is the criterion to determine whether an international regime is formal or informal.

107  Regime Design and Dilemma in International Health Cooperation

TANG Bei

Although international cooperation on notification of communicable diseases has a long history and a set of regimes has been established,the established rules and regulations have been poorly obeyed. The author tries to explore this problem with the tool of situation-structuralism,arguing that International Health Regulations,which should have been the most important regime in this area,is defective in its design. Even though it has made cooperation a promising field with high payment for all sides,it tends to fall into stalemate of mutual rebellion between the participating nation states,due to the conflicts between the specialized nature of international cooperation and the complexity of national interests. The dilemma in the process of international cooperation could be alleviated by perfecting the design of the corresponding international regime.

119  A Study on European Space Policy

HE Qisong

With the real and potential values of space science for military affairs and economy becoming increasingly greater,the European states have successively formulated their space policies independently or jointly with other countries. In the year of 2007,the EU Commission issued its own space policy,which emphasizes that Europe must take more efforts to protect and improve its globally competitive capability,that Europe must act as one of the leaders of the aero-system and an indispensable international partner,that it must make contributions to initiatives concerning activities in the space and that its space policy must provide support to the CFSP. However,the EU's space policy has encountered a number of difficulties due to lack of unified administrative authority,fund and support from the industrial policy and due to the conflicts between the member states.

130  An Analysis of the Financial Crisis in Iceland

JIANG Shixue

In October 2008 Iceland suffered a severe financial crisis that made the nation almost bankrupt. The root cause of the crisis is closely related to a large financial bubble created by speedy internationalization of the banking sector after its privatization,which crashed under adverse external conditions. The following lessons can be drawn:the strategy of "going global" for the banking sector should be implemented in a cautious way; lax government regulations over the financial sector should be avoided; credit expansion should not be used as a way of stimulating the economy; and the relationship between upgrading the industrial structures and making use of the comparative advantage should be dealt with properly.

140  Conservatism in Contemporary Russia

PANG Dapeng

Conservatism is one of the major political ideologies in contemporary Russia,which is rooted deeply and which is an extension and development of Russia's mainstream political value-"sovereign democracy". The political initiatives that Russia has taken based on conservatism are of positive significance and have produced great influences on the future of Russia. The rise and progress of contemporary conservatism reflects Russia's present transition from institutional to conceptual consolidation. The prospects for conservatism depend on the future of the United Russia Party,on whether Russia has the ability to overcome the financial crisis and on the fundamental requirements of the overall process of Russia's political transition.