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Abstract by the authors: The EU-China relationship is driven by two distinct underlying logics: a power-based one and a transformational one. The power-based logic is premised on a belief that because of anarchy, power politics and conflicts of interest cannot be entirely overcome. According to this view, intercourse between the EU and China will reflect their relative power positions and display concerns about relative gains, making cooperation between them more difficult. In contrast, a transformational logic reflects a more liberal/constructivist perspective. It suggests that rules and shared norms can sharply reduce conflicts of interest and mitigate concerns about relative gains through the creation of trust and reciprocal socialization, making enduring cooperation between the EU and China more likely. The EU-China relationship is thus clearly mixed, consisting of an array of cooperative and competitive elements. At any given moment, the relationship can be pictured as residing somewhere along a spectrum that extends from pure cooperation at one extreme to unrestrained competition at the other. Diverging trends, which are mutually reinforcing, are pushing the relationship toward competition, converging trends—also reinforcing each other—are promoting cooperation. The direction in which the EU-China partnership can possibly evolve—more competition or more cooperation—will be moulded by the relative strength of diverging and converging trends.
Abstract by the author: This article looks at the linkages between export to the European Union (EU), export to china and human rights policies. The article argues that countries that export to the EU at high rates are more likely to converge towards its policies than countries that don’t export to the EU. The article also argues that the rise of China as a significant economic actor does not undermine this process. The article tests these arguments by analysing the links between human rights protection in the EU and in China, and export to the EU and to China, on the one hand, and human rights protection in all the countries for which there are data, on the other. The results indicate that countries’ human rights policies are positively associated with the EU’s human rights policies and this association is conditioned by countries’ levels of export to the EU. The results further indicate that export to China does not undermine this pattern. The article draws conceptual and policy implications.
Abstract by the author: An EU-China Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter FTA) and Bilateral Investment Treaty (hereinafter BIT) can stimulate new labor protections and collective labor union cooperation in Chinese and European Union (hereinafter EU) workplaces, benefitting individual workers. Not only will it bring possible substantive improvements provided by the sustainability provisions calling for compliance with I.L.O. labor standards, but most importantly, the interface of EU trade unions with Chinese workers, employers, and the local All-China Federation of Trade Unions(hereinafter A.C.F.T.U.), brought about by its accompanying labor cooperation provisions and activities, will enhance workers' rights.' It will also provide a measure of certainty with rules to guide the evolving Belt and Road Initiative (hereinafter B.R.I.) across the New Silk Road.
Abstract by the authors: Reports on the conclusion in principle of negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the EU and China, which will provide EU investors in China with a greater level of market access and ensure fair treatment of EU companies to enable them to compete on a better level playing field in China.
Abstract by the authors: Geographical indications (GIs), signs used on products that identify their geographical origin and special quality or reputation, are atypical intellectual property. The conflicts of interest between the New World and Old World and the diversity of legal regimes have obstructed the international harmonization of GI protection. Neither the Lisbon Agreement nor the TRIPS Agreement have been able to establish a widely accepted international GI registration or protection system. Though the Geneva Act has remarkably improved the treaty regime of GIs, the different approaches of the European Union and United States still seem irreconcilable. This article examines the Chinese dual GI system from a treaty perspective and explores the common functions of GIs and Trademarks, concluding that China's Trademark Law can ensure GI protection that is compliant with the TRIPS Agreement and the Geneva Act. The Chinese solution can be a reference for other countries which protect GIs with a trademark system.
Abstract by the authors: Examines the disciplines for tackling regulatory divergence in services markets included in 23 preferential trade agreements entered into by China, the EU, Japan and the US, and considers whether they might be styled "GATS plus" or "GATS extra" or "GATS minus" measures.
Abstract by the authors: This paper discusses the results of a study into the evolution of electronic commerce-related provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and supplements them with a tripartite comparison of the e-commerce provisions in Chinese, EU, and US RTAs. As trade barriers related to electronic commerce are becoming ever more important in the global trade landscape and no explicit provisions exist at the multilateral level, it can be expected that WTO Members increasingly include provisions addressing such barriers, and electronic commerce more generally, at the bilateral and regional levels. This study applies a term-frequency analysis to the whole body of RTAs that contain e-commerce-related provisions, mapping the evolution of e-commerce chapters over time. Subsequently, a legal analysis is conducted on the e-commerce terms that were found in Chinese, EU, and US RTAs. Based on these Members’ position at the multilateral level, the e-commerce topics covered in their RTAs, and the nature of the provisions included, the paper aims to assess the convergences and divergences in their approach to e-commerce at the bilateral level and to draw lessons for the ongoing WTO plurilateral negotiations on the trade-related aspects of electronic commerce.
Abstract by the authors: The recent surge in Chinese outbound foreign direct investment in Europe has been met with anxiety often invoking national security concerns. Using the national security framework developed by Moran and Oldenski, we try to ascertain which transactions justify apprehension. Our case study is the acquisition by a subsidiary of wholly state-owned State Grid Corporation of China of a 35% stake in CDP Reti S.p.A. (CDP Reti) that controls Italy’s electricity grid via its subsidiary Terna S.p.A. Although State Grid Corporation of China can nominate two members of CDP Reti’s board of directors, we find that there is no direct threat to national security. We then tackle the geopolitical dimension of investments in electricity grids. Using the ‘thought experiment’ developed by Scholten and Bosman, the contribution we make is that, in a world where the importance of renewable energy increases, a framing power rather than control over the strategic development of a country’s grid is sufficient to exert geopolitical power. Since State Grid Corporation of China’s exponents on CDP Reti’s board can at least partly influence the company’s investment decisions, we conclude that the transaction grants China geopolitical influence over Italy’s grid. Furthermore, in the future this type of geopolitical influence could also lead to indirect security concerns. The interconnection of European electricity flows extends this conclusion to the EU’s electricity grid as a whole.
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