Memorandum submitted by Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (China)
VIII CO-OPERATION
WITH EU PARTNERS
123. Many of our objectives in relation
to China are shared by our EU partners and other allies, and we
can often have greater effect by acting in concert with others
than on our own. Close consultation with our main partners is
therefore important. The EU takes the lead on trade policy matters
such as WTO accession negotiations.
124. In recent years, EU co-ordination has
assumed a particular importance for us in relation to China, especially
with regard to human rights where we participate fully in the
EU human rights dialogue with China, and have supported EU statements
and demarches on human rights matters.
125. There are regular EU/China summits,
the last of which took place on 21 December 1999. The summits
provide an opportunity for high-level discussion about economic
and trade relations including WTO, human rights, science and technology,
environment etc, and other subjects such as regional issues.
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