EU-China Strategic Partnership

The EU-China Strategic Partnership, which is based on the 1985 EU-China trade and cooperation agreement, has grown to include foreign affairs, security matters and international challenges such as climate change and global economy governance. Annual EU-China summits and dialogues are the main way for the EU and China to interact regularly. They are organised around 3 'pillars' with more than fifty political, economic and sectoral, and people-to-people dialogues. Sectoral dialogues include diverse fields such as industrial policy, education, customs, social affairs, nuclear energy and consumer protection.  The European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee also have annual gatherings with their opposite numbers from China, including between European parties and the Chinese Communist party.

Click here to view the main elements of the EU-China dialogue architecture.

Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

A part of the strategy outlined in the 2006 document ‘EU-China: Closer Partners, Growing Responsibilities’ - which set out a general framework for the EU-China strategic partnership - is the ongoing negotiations on a comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The PCA started in January 2007, to replace the 1985 EC-China Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement.

The PCA will provide an opportunity to establish a broad and comprehensive framework for the EU-China strategic partnership and further improve the framework for bilateral trade and investment relations.