How far is China from Europe

of coordination with the beneficiary country and other donors. This paper must take account of the EU's general policies and, in particular, the development policy, the main aim of which is to reduce poverty.

On the basis of this strategy paper, support activities must concentrate on the following priority areas:

support to the economic and social reform process with a view to assisting China's efforts to ensure regional and social cohesion, reduce poverty and promote gender equality;

promotion of sustainable development;

encouragement of good governance initiatives and promotion of the rule of law.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Commission plans to continue to focus on flexible projects in areas where the EU has a comparative advantage. This flexibility must also govern project design, allowing for annual adaptations of activities carried out and the budgets allocated to them.

Finally, the devolution of the project management cycle to the Commission's Beijing Delegation must help to optimise the effectiveness of EU-China cooperation.”

Raising the EU’s profile in China is also very important point of EU’s strategy towards China. “ This involves improving all aspects of the EU information policy regarding China in order to promote mutual understanding and facilitate exchanges of information. The Commission aims to enhance knowledge and awareness of the European Union in China, in particular by using modern information technologies such as the Internet.

Other initiatives may also be envisaged, including use of the EU Visitors Programme to encourage Chinese decision-makers to come to Brussels and the Member States, and the creation of associations and networks of alumni of EU programmes.

Finally, the Commission highlights the need for coordination and cooperation between the EU Member States and the Commission's Beijing Delegation when organising cultural events.”

To achieve it’s goals the EU implements required measures. According to EU’s web site: “ The political dialogue with China has been formalised through an exchange of letters at ministerial level, which set out a framework for regular meetings on political and technical issues. The meeting programme set out in the Communication has been implemented. The high-level talks on illegal immigration have also continued.

The European Union has continued to express its concern regarding the human rights situation in China, particularly in the context of the EU-Chinese human rights dialogue and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The Council has pointed out in particular that this dialogue is only acceptable if it translates into progress on the ground. An EU-China inter-university network to assist with the ratification and application of United Nations human rights covenants has been established and is responsible for organising seminars bringing together experts in the field. The cooperation programmes in the field of human rights have all continued, while cooperation to prevent torture is under consideration.

Since China's accession to the WTO in December 2001, the Commission has very closely monitored China's compliance with its commitments, notably within the framework of the sectoral dialogue with the China. Continuing this work is one of the Commission's main aims with regard to China in the years ahead. In parallel, the EU has renewed its support for this process through a new cooperation programme totalling EUR 15 million.

Comprehensive dialogue on the information society, the environment and energy has been launched, while dialogue on science and technology has been revived. An agreement on maritime transport was signed in December 2002. In March 2003, the Commission received a negotiating mandate from the Council with a view to concluding an agreement with China that would make it possible to involve it in the Galileo programme. A Galileo representative office was opened in Beijing in April 2003.

Finally, a new 2002-2006 cooperation strategy with China was adopted in 2002. Under the 2002-2004 National Indicative Programme, a total of EUR 150 million has been set aside for cooperation measures, particularly in the fields of economic and social reform, sustainable development and good governance.”

Conclusion.

In conclusion it is necessary to say that now, when we investigated EU-China’s relationships we can give an answer to the main question of this paper – how far is China from Europe? According to all we have mentioned above we can see that the European Union has to make a great job to “transform” China into “European” country – at present China is too different from Europe. So, the answer for our question is evident. China is very far from Europe and this concerns not only huge distance between Europe and Asia, it concerns practically all spheres of life. Economic, political and especially social differences between China and Europe are too deep.

Bibliography

http://www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/r14205.htm

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/china/intro/index.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/countries/china/index_en.htm

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/china/gac.htm#ch_211003