Indra and Huawei work together to win competitiveness

The Spanish multinational company Indra announced last March his alliance with Huawei, one acquaintance Chinese multinational company.

With such union is intended to obtain a position of supremacy in the increasingly competitive computers and technology market, that ensures both companies one future in that market.

This is another indication of the advances in the economic relations of UE and China. 

China in the process of purchase of Germany

China has focussed their commercial efforts in Germany, having been acquired the last year 58 German companies by China; which supposes an approximate investment of 11.600 million euros in that country.

That is possible due to the promotion of the economic relations between the European Union and China that has been carried out in the last decades, with the Trade and Commercial Cooperation Agreement; as well as the implication of the German government in maintaining that cooperation through regular visits to China.

They were acquired 19 German companies more than in 2015, and the total investment of 2016 is 20 times bigger that the sum of all the previous years. That shows the efficient, continuity and improve of those economic relations. 

Relations to promote the security

Here we have to talk about the weapons embargo, the satellites, the nuclear non-proliferation and the transparency about the military waste.

The weapons embargo took place in the area of the protests in the Tien An Men square in Pekin; some students started a strike against the government and it sent the troopes so the repression was bloody. The UE dictated a sanction against China and imposed a weapon embargo. Inside this point there are some discrepancies against the Member States. France and Germany are advocates to raise the embargo; however the United Kingdom and other countries are afraid of the potential threat of China. In 2004 the Europeans reached an agreement to raise the embargo, but the pressures of United States of America made United Kingdom to change his opinion in March 2005. Nowadays the European Parliament has a contrary position to the weapon embargo, due to the lack of progress in the field of human rights. 

In respect of the satellites we have to highlight the Galileo Europe Programme (Commission Communication of 10^th February 1999), in which China enter as the first non-european country in 2004. It consists in a radio system of navigation and positioning by satellite who equips the European Union with technology independent from EEUU and Russia (in principle it has civil use unlike the ones of Russia and EEUU). China leaves the project in 2006 with the objective to create his own satellite.

About the implementation of the Galileo Programme, we have to highlight the Council Resolution of 3^rd August 1999; in which invited the Commission to present a negotiation project for the cooperation with EEUU and Russia, as well as one analysis in cost-benefit relation of the programme and the possible sources of investment public-privates.

Also emphasize the Proposal for a Regulation on the European Parliament and of the Council related to the execution of the deployment phases and exploitation of the programme, and the Regulation nº 876/2002 of the Council, of 24^th May 2002, for the creation of the common programme Galileo.

Regarding the nuclear non-proliferation, it is an open treaty that restricts the possession of nuclear weapons (Resolution approved by the General Assembly in the twenty-second period of sessions, about the basis of the report of the first Commission). The same contemplates an exception of five states called as nuclear-armed states, who are allowed to possess nuclear weapons. These countries are: EEUU, United Kingdom, France, Russia and the People´s Republic of China. Such treaty is based on the no proliferation, the disarmament and the pacific use of the nuclear energy. Nonetheless, in the last years, China has increased its nuclear arsenal, revealing a compromising situation.

Finally, the EU has demanded China a bigger transparency of the military waste, with the objective to prevent any wartime intention (Resolution of the European Parliament about the implementation of the European Security Strategy, of 16^th November 2006). 

Political relations

In China exists a problem of non – respecting of human rights. Thousands of people are execute every year, because the torture and the death penalty are accepted as a habitual mode of acting for the police. This transcends both at political and economical levels, finding a lot of EU countries feeling reluctant to foment and maintain relations with China; situation aggravated by the existing communist government.

With the objective of closing with this image, China pretends to justify their actions adhering to all types of International Agreements about human rights. In 1980 they adhered to the International Convention of all types of discrimination against the women (which entered into force as International Treaty the 3^rd September 1981), when it is know that every year thousands of girls are killed for being considered uselessness. This phenomenology is fault of the “only child” politic which has been implemented for stopping the demographic growth. In 1986 they ratified the International Agreement against the torture and others cruel treatments.

More recently, in 2004 it was added to the national constitution of China that “the State respects and preserve the human rights”. But reality of the human rights in China still continues being other. The Annual Report of Human Rights of the European Union of 2004 refers to this area saying that although China had change their constitution, the EU is gravely concerned about the continues violations of Human Rights in China.

China, for their part, is aware that there are not improves in the human rights field; but they have developed a technique which runs for avoid the problem: they play whit the economic interests in their bilateral relationships with the European countries. This is achieved by the actions of “dumping”, consistent in making sales at lower prices to the ones fixed by the same company in the same market, when those prices are different to the ones of the various markets of exportation or when they are lower to the factory price. Against the “dumping” the European Union has imposed a set of measures “antidumping”, even though they joined the World Trade Organization the 11^th December 2001; nowadays China is still not considered a market economy (the 11^th December 2016 the status of “non market economy” was stopped to be applied, which supposes a partial reduction but no total of the “antidumping” measures).

All that has been presented previously shows that China does not respect the legal bases of the Rule of Law. Not only for the torture and the discrimination, for the dependence of the judicial power respect to government too. With the objective of alleviate this situation, in 2014, took place the first meeting of the China Government Council; and it pretended to promote the judicial independence based in the European system. A communist government creates an insecurity situation for the European Union, before the lack of transparency and the transfer of information, the possibility to lose the investments made or the insecurity before an arbitrary judicial procedure. China has undertaken the right way to reach an improvement of the political relations, but it has a lot to be done. 

Economic relations

Inside this type of relations, we are going to mainly focus, in the commerce and the freight transport.

The commercial relations between the European Economic Community and China are governed by the Trade and Commercial Cooperation Agreement, signed the 21^st May 1985; but it doesn´t entered into force until the 1^st of October 1985. 

In the commercial aspect, it is an agreement based in the clause of the Most Favoured Nation. 

This clause, it is considered one of the principles of the commerce system, consists in that countries can´t stablish discriminations between their various commercial interlocutors. If they give a special advantage to a country, it has to be done the same with the others. 

This clause is bilaterally applied to the custom duty and taxes of all nature applied to the importation, exportation, re-exportation or transit of products; to the regulations, procedures and formalities related to the customs clearance, transit, storage and transhipment of the imported and exported products; the taxes and all internal charges that grave directly or indirectly the products and imported and exported services; the administrative formalities for the granting of the importation and exportation licences. 

On the other hand, it is not applied to the advantages granted by the EEC or China to: the states which form part of one customs union or free trade zone with EEC or China and to the neighbouring countries when the measures have as object to facilitate the border trade. 

The measures that the EEC or China could adopt to face their obligations derived from the international agreements about base products.

In the economic level it is accorded the cooperation in the sectors: industrial and mining, agricultural, science and technology, energy, transports and communications, environment and cooperation in third countries.

On January 2007, they started the negotiations to conclude a new Trade and Commercial Cooperation Agreement much wider that the one signed in 1985, even it will have the same non-preferential character and it will refrain to include practical undertakens for accessing to the market.

About the implementation of the Agreement, we have to highlight the redaction and publication by the Council of a Regulation (nº 2616/85, of 16^th September 1985) previous to the entering into force of the Agreement, as well as the Strategic Cooperation Agenda redacted and updated regularly by the Council.

In respect of the freight transport, we have to mention one agreement signed by the European Union and China the 6^th December 2002 about the marine transport in which are established the conditions for the operations which affect the goods with origin and destination in both parties. The signed document place the bilateral agreements between the Member States in China within an European framework and, according to the European Commission, it allows to reach a major level of market opening than the obtained with them. It has the objective of improving the conditions in the marine transportation of goods for the benefit of the economic operators of the parties. It is based on the principles of freedom of marine services and free access in the charges and also to the trade routes, access without restrictions to ports and services and non-discriminatory treatment.

This Agreement had an effect of five years, and it was renewed the 21^st December 2008; entering into force according to the article 15 of the same, on the first day of the next month as of the date in which the Parties have notified to each other the fulfilment of their respective obligations.  

 European currency (euro)

 Chinese currency (yuan)

Introduction

The European Union and the People´s Popular of China make up the fourth part of the world population. 

China has an increasing political weight all over the world, which could be increase after a bigger cooperation with the European Union. However, there are some problems and restrictions; like their communist regime, the not respect of human rights and the weapons seizure.

In addition, China is the fourth world economic power and the third bigger exporter, consequently it pushed, combined with the European economic crisis, to boost the recognition of it like a market economy before the World Trade Organization (which will suppose a reduction of duties and antidumping measures).

Regard the relations between EU and China; we are going to focus our analysis in the economic, political and international security ones.