10/26/15 10/26/15

2015 at Dawn.com)

President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to the United States grabbed global headlines. By going to Britain, the Chinese leader has sent an equally important signal of his interests and determination in deepening and expanding China’s ties with Britain — but also with Europe.Beijing and Washington certainly need to talk to each other on a range of bilateral and international issues. And the Sino-American agreements reached on cybersecurity and climate change will help ease relations between the world’s two leading political and economic actors.But President Xi and Prime Minister Li Keqiang’s many visits to Brussels, Paris and Berlin this year — and now Xi’s high-profile trip to Britain — underline that China and Europe have also made a strategic choice to further develop and expand relations.China’s focus on Europe and on Britain is important for several reasons. Tackling challenges in a multipolar and multi-complex world requires more than cooperation between China and the US. It also demands working in tandem with the European Union and its 28 member states.Britain, given its global role and influence is, of course, especially important. President Xi’s visit, including his high-level meetings, underline to a watching world — and to the rest of Europe — that China still views Britain as a key international player.Significantly, Xi’s visit follows a trip to China by UK Chancellor George Osborne last month, during which he said Britain should be China’s “best partner in the West”.It’s not just Britain that wants closer ties with China, however. Germany remains a strong contender for the title of Beijing’s ‘best friend’ in Europe. And more generally while relations between China and individual EU states are important, ties with the EU are also improving, with the launch of the connectivity platform and the agreement to cooperate on developing 5G networks.Europe certainly has the markets China needs for its exports — and trade is still booming. European expertise and know-how is critically important to help meet China’s urbanisation, climate, innovation and other developmental challenges. Most recently, there is a focus on synergies between the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project and Europe’s own investment blueprint for transport, digital and technology networks. Britain and British companies have a key role to play in such cooperation, both on a bilateral level but also through the EU.True, the EU’s many recent crises have eroded much of its lustre. Last year has been especially difficult as EU leaders have grappled with continuing troubles in the Eurozone, struggled to tackle the influx of refugees fleeing war and conflict in Syria and Africa while also dealing with longer-term problems of low growth and high unemployment.For the next few months, the focus in London, Brussels and in other EU capitals will be on Britain and the country’s upcoming referendum on its membership of the EU.The EU is hoping that Britain will opt to stay in. And while no EU leader would say so in public, many are clearly hoping that President Xi gives a clear but subtle message to British citizens to vote in favour of EU membership. As such, it is especially significant that the Chinese president has met leaders of the opposition parties and parliamentary leaders.But that’s not the only reason that the EU kept a close watch on President Xi’s speeches and meetings in Britain. China-watchers in Brussels and elsewhere in the EU wanted to learn more about the state of the Chinese economy after the market volatility over the summer and what to expect as China’s development priorities in the upcoming 13th Five-Year Plan.Meanwhile, Xi’s speech in London provided further insight into China’s hopes for the internationalisation of the renminbi and also information on China’s priorities as it prepares to take over as chair of the G20.Certainly as in other EU capitals, the focus was on business, with Britain looking for Chinese investments in key projects such as a high speed rail line in the north of the country and a deal on Chinese investments in the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. The UK is now China’s largest investment destination country in Europe.More investment opportunities for Chinese companies opened up in the railway, energy, aviation and telecommunications industries. Significantly, leading the way for other European countries, Britain joined the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), despite opposition from Washington, earlier this year. Within the EU, Britain’s opinion is important as the EU and China negotiate their Bilateral Investment Treaty and will be even more important if and when the two sides start discussions on a Free Trade Agreement.There used to be a time not so long ago when China’s friendships with individual EU member states were viewed with suspicion by Brussels. This was especially the case as regards China’s ‘special relationship’ with Germany and the burgeoning ties between Beijing and the Central and Eastern European states. Fortunately, such unease is now mostly over, with many policymakers agreeing that stronger bilateral ties between China and the individual EU member states — including Britain — help to consolidate and deepen the wider EU-China relationship.

9/8/14 9/8/14

EU views on China's urbanisation drive (Originally published 30/01/13)

Europeans are watching with a mix of admiration and anxiety as China’s cities become big, bigger, biggest.Reasons for the admiration are clear: the dizzying pace and scale of China’s urbanization and transformation from a largely rural to an urban nation is unprecedented in human history. There is also recognition that cities have been the major drivers of China’s impressive economic growth and as such there is EU support for Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang as he champions the cause for further Chinese urbanisation.As the world urges China to rebalance its economy, there are hopes that increased domestic consumption due to urbanisation will overtake exports to become the main driver of the economy.As European Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia said in May last year at the launch of the EU-China partnership on sustainable urbanisation, “city dwellers and migrants are the lifeblood of China’s economic development and need to supported in their search for social and economic opportunities.”Cities in both China and Europe are focal points of economic growth, innovation and paid employment. On average, urban residents have better access to education and health care as well as other basic services such as clean water, sanitation and transportation than rural populations. If well managed, urbanisation can continue to offer important opportunities for economic and social development.But urbanisation is not as simple as relocating rural people to cities or turning them overnight into city-dwellers. It is also about the quality of urban living, being able to provide urbanites with social security, housing, health, education and recreational facilities.As such, there is concern in Europe – as in many parts of the world – that China may not be able to cope with the demands of its increasingly assertive “urban billion”. China’s urban expansion poses a huge challenge for local and national leaders who must find sufficient public funding to provide social services and deal with pressure on energy resources, land, water and the environment. It is also clear that integrating rural migrants into city life will not be easy, given the current system of local residence permits (hukou).Clearly, the hukou system has helped to control the influx of rural migrants to the cities, maintained social stability and, at least partly, avoided slums-like outskirts next to China's bigger cities. But can the hukou system meet the challenges of urban living in the 21st Century? The fear is that in the long run, it may impede growth by lowering labour mobility and preventing some urbanites from becoming real consumers.Europeans do not just want to watch China’s urbanization from the side lines. The European Union believes firmly that potential for EU-China cooperation in creating energy-efficient and “eco-cities” is immense. The EU-China sustainable urbanization partnership launched amid much fanfare last year is a very visible symbol of the two sides’ hopes of working together on what many in Brussels view as a global challenge, not just a Chinese one.European businesses, meanwhile are hoping to help China meet its urbanization challenge – and make money in the process. And there is no dearth of experts, academics and scholars who are already giving their advice on how best to improve China’s cities of today and build China’s cities of tomorrow.The task facing China is immense. At recent meetings on the subject organised in Brussels, Chinese and European experts have underlined their concerns regarding the impact of the mega-cities on China’s already massive problem of environmental pollution, water and waste management, property prices and transport bottle necks. Providing health and education facilities to the rising number of urban dwellers will be difficult.However, there is also confidence that Chinese architects, urban planners and other urbanization experts will be able to create and build cities which are adapted to the needs of 21st Century citizens. Ideally, European technology and China’s organizational and implementation skills can be combined to produce the best results.Faced also with energy constraints, increased citizen mobility and dwindling natural resources, Europe is making great strides in greening its cities. But as illustrated by a series of EU projects, including the EU “smart cities and communities” initiative, the quest to develop integrated sustained solutions that offer clean, secure and affordable energy to citizens is far from over.Since cities account for 70 per cent of Europe’s overall energy consumption, EU plans to ensure 20 per cent energy saving by 2020 and to develop a low-carbon economy by 2050 hinge on how quickly and successfully European cities can become more resource-efficient.Europe can share its experience with China in areas such as providing pensions, health care and education for migrant workers as well as in managing rural communities. EU policymakers also insist on the need to involve civil society representatives in the dialogue on sustainable urbanisation.As such, over the coming years, European and Chinese mayors, architects, urban planners and industry leaders will have many opportunities to meet, identify and find solutions for common problems and priorities. The EU’s own Covenant of Mayors, set up in 2008, has more than 3,800 towns and cities as members who discuss issues like climate change, water, waste and mobility but also over-consumption and ageing.Given the right balance, in China, Europe and elsewhere, cities can be wonderlands of creativity, abundance and talent. But achieving that equilibrium will require out-of-the-box solutions and visionary global partnerships.