New EU Policy Paper
The paper hasn't yet appeared online, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for it. I expect that it'll be notable for what it desn't say as much as for what it does. Xinhua is certainly keeping mum about anything the EU has to say on human rights and so on, but that may well be because Europe would rather keep its trade levels up than "interfere in China's internal affairs"
The EU's executive Commission will release the new policy paper today.
In it China-EU relations are described as positive but there are also calls for a closer partnership, to deal with global challenges such as energy supply and sustainable development as well as smoother economic and trade cooperation.
"We both have a huge stake in effective multilateralism, and in international peace and stability across the globe," said EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Walder in a joint article for the International Herald Tribune newspaper.
