Time:2012/4/26 

On 20th April 2012, at Zhongguanyuan Global Village, Peking University, the Center for International and Strategic Studies hosted a delegation from the Royal Danish Defence College. The day began with two briefings: the first from the Danish Ambassador to China, Friis Arne Petersen, who discussed ‘China-Denmark Relations’ and the second by the First Secretary to the EU delegation, Frederic Maduraud, who talked about ‘EU Defence Policy towards China’. Following on from this, Professor Zha Daojiong gave a briefing on ‘China’s Energy Policy’ and Professor Zhang Qingmin discussed ‘China’s Diplomacy’. Professor Yu Tiejun then talked about ‘China’s Military Structure and Objectives’, and Professor Li Anshan concluded the briefings with his presentation on ‘China’s Africa Policy’. The briefings were rich in content, providing unique expert perspectives on each topic. The presentations were followed by question and answer sessions, which gave the opportunity for a dynamic exchange of ideas and discussion.

China-Denmark Relations

The Danish Ambassador to China, Friis Arne Petersen, pointed out that China’s rapidly increasing political and economic power in the international arena means that the country’s importance for Denmark is also increasing. The trade statistics between two countries are a strong indicator of the state of their relations: Sino-Danish trade has quadrupled in the past 10 years - a reflection of the remarkable improvement in Sino-Danish relations over this time period. Trade has increased across all sectors, which is a promising sign that China is interested in all areas of Denmark’s economy. In particular, trade relating to medical and pharmaceuticals had shown a marked increase owing to the improved living standards of Chinese citizens and their stronger demand for better healthcare. In addition, the Ambassador believed that Denmark could provide greater economic assistance to China in dealing with its pollution problems. Air and water pollution, as a result of China’s high-speed development, are already serious problems in China and the situation will reach a critical point in the near future with grave implications for air transport, health etc. Danish companies can use their expertise to help the Chinese in reducing energy usage and working towards sustainable environmental growth. The Danish Government has already established a centre for renewable energy in China to help with implementing sophisticated energy regulations and to engage in joint projects on constructing energy efficient wind turbines etc. The Ambassador also suggested that China could learn a lot from the Danish model of equality and the extensive social welfare system which strongly correlates to China’s own socialist principles.

The Ambassador commented that Denmark has a huge and widening trade deficit with China and that there is a deepening global economic imbalance between America, Europe and China. However, despite the deficit, trade with China is highly beneficial for Danish companies and consumers who profit from buying Chinese products. This presents the Danish government with a dilemma that may have to be addressed in the near future. In recent years we have seen a marked reversal in world GDP statistics as part of a global ‘tectonic shift’: Europe, particularly in countries like Greece, Spain and Italy, where GDP levels are stagnating and even declining contrasts sharply with China and other developing countries where GDP is rapidly increasing. He concluded that, at the present time, because of differences in opinion over human rights, democracy and values, Denmark cannot enjoy the same kind of strategic partnership that it has with the US. However, China and Denmark can have a very pragmatic, strong economic relationship. And in today’s globalised world, trade and economics are of unprecedented importance in diplomacy.

EU Defence Policy towards China: Engaging China on Security and Defence

In his presentation on ‘EU Defence Policy towards China’, Frederic Maduraud said that it is important for the EU to improve its understanding of China’s rise. At the same time the EU needs to raise its profile in the eyes of China; currently, as far as China is concerned, the EU is seen as an economic player but not a major political player. Going forward, both sides should seek to improve their cooperation on global and regional security issues, and Europe should establish itself as a credible partner on an equal footing with China on security and defence issues. Europe needs to engage with China in a more comprehensive manner and improve the efficiency and consistency of EU foreign policy towards China. A roadmap should be established to deepen cooperation, starting at the grass root level, and then moving towards civil and military dialogue with the aim of setting up a crisis management consultation mechanism. Frederic Maduraud concluded that EU ambitions and interests regarding security in Asia needs to be properly clarified and he believes that the EU needs more maturity in terms of its institutions and Asia strategy. It is crucial that China and Europe build relevant instruments for defence and security dialogue to take place. 

China’s Energy Policy

Professor Zha Daojiong then gave his briefing on ‘China’s Energy Policy’. Firstly, he began by saying that in his personal opinion, China does not have a serious energy problem; in the event of an oil shortage, China can rely on coal, which is domestically available, to meet its energy needs. China is working towards overall energy reduction targets, and successfully achieved the 20% reduction target set for the period 2006-2010. However China missed the 3.5% reduction target set for 2011, reaching only a 2% overall reduction. Professor Zha pointed out that the target was missed primarily because of the government stimulus package and resulting cash injections into the domestic economy to combat the effects of the week global economic environment and the Eurozone debt crisis. There had been plans to introduce measures to reduce water consumption this month in China but because of high inflation, these measures have been put on hold. 

While China has implemented a series of ‘5 Year Plans’ across many sectors, the energy sector is still lacking such a plan owing to intense competition for energy across all sectors and the associated difficulties with allocating targets. Since 1998 there have been debates about whether China should establish an energy ministry but this has yet to materialise. More planning is needed to maximise energy efficiency, for example, there is a lot of idle time in existing power plants, yet many new plants are currently under construction across China. In addition, the energy sector is becoming more privatised and less centralised; this will undoubtedly boost economic success but it will not help with improving energy efficiency. Currently there are few economic incentives to choose renewable energy sources, as it is still at least twice as expensive as using coal. A balance needs to be struck between considerations for the overall economy and energy efficiency.

Regarding nuclear power, the Fukushima incident has meant there has been a delay in nuclear power plant construction, however construction is set to continue later this year as China still needs to diversify its energy sources to reduce its dependence on coal. There is also great potential to develop wind, hydro and solar power in China provided internal action is taken to construct a coherent energy policy. Professor Zha concluded that, while there is a lot of potential in China to develop other kinds of energy, China should discuss its options with foreign companies and use their expertise to develop its energy technology. However, if China wants to make significant progress in improving energy efficiency and develop its renewable energy capabilities, then the change and effort really has to come internally. There needs to be financial incentives in place to encourage companies to branch out into new kinds of energy and a concrete poverty reduction project to reduce the peoples’ dependency on coal. Promoting decentralisation of energy will be crucial in order to increase economies of scale and boost efficiency and profitability. 

China’s Diplomacy 

Professor Zhang Qingming followed with a briefing on ‘China’s Diplomacy’. He began by discussing China’s perception of contemporary international relations. Since 1980, China has viewed the international environment as benign with no critical threats or destabilising factors. China believes this situation will not change in the near future and places a strong emphasis on maintaining peace to guarantee the optimum environment for China’s development. The two major trends in international relations today are globalisation and multi-polarisation. There now exists a constant, fast-paced flow of goods, people, capital and information across the globe, and China has become well-integrated into this global system. In addition, East Asia is rising rapidly with China at its centre. Professor Zhang described China’s major national interests as defending state sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity and national reunification. It is important to guarantee the survival of China’s political system that was established by the constitution and preserve overall social stability to ensure sustainable economic development and social development. In addition, China has a domestic focused security strategy and opposes outside interference in any country’s domestic affairs.

China is pursuing a development-focused strategy and since the 1970s China has had three main goals. The first was to double GNP and guarantee basic living standards, the second was to double output and achieve initial levels of prosperity and the third was for China to become a medium developed country in terms of GDP. National development is at the core of China’s national interests and since 1970, China’s development strategy has been hugely successful. In 2010, total economic output reached 5.88 trillion dollars, 16 times the figure in1978 and 9.3% of the world’s total. This is in a large part due to the fact that China has not engaged in any serious war or conflict during this period, so has been able to solely focus on economic development. Thus China sees maintaining peace, especially in China’s peripheral environment, of paramount importance. 

China’s development-focused strategy has led to a restructuring of China’s diplomatic patterns of behaviour: China now attaches a great deal of importance to relations with developed countries. This contrasts with historical examples of other rising powers, as typically rising powers seek to bandwagon against powerful status quo powers. However China wants to maintain and strengthen its relations with developed countries for both economic and security reasons: half of China’s total trade and investment is with developed countries and China wants to work with these countries to improve its own technological capacity to further drive domestic economic development. However, in terms of China’s security issues, most problems China faces are with developed Western countries, for example, the thorny issues with Taiwan reunification and the Dalai Lama, which affect Sino-American relations. China is seeking to put more emphasis on mutual trust and benefit in the economic arena in an attempt to gradually overcome security problems. In recent years, China has become involved in many multilateral institutions: the SCO, ASEAN and the Six Party Talks are just a few examples.

China’s Military Structure and Objectives

Professor Yu Tiejun then gave his briefing on ‘China’s Military Structure and Objectives’. The Peoples’ Liberation Army was founded by the Chinese Communist Party and is composed of the army, navy, air force and second artillery force. Information about China’s military budget can be found in the annual Defence White Paper, The SIPRI Year Book, the Military Balance by IISS and the Annual Report to the Congress prepared by the Pentagon. While the official figures are smaller than other external reports, they are useful for ascertaining the approximate figure. In 2012, China’s military budget exceeded 100 billion US dollars for the first time. However, China’s defence budget as a percentage of GDP is no higher than other major powers (with the exception of Japan, Germany). Despite this, many analysts complain about the lack of transparency of China’s military budget and call for a more detailed breakdown. 

Regarding China’s threat assessment, China’s National Defence in 2010 specified the following: International relations are currently undergoing profound and complex changes. In an increasingly globalised world, non-traditional security threats are becoming more problematic: security threats posed by global challenges such as terrorism, economic insecurity, climate change, nuclear proliferation, natural disasters, public health and trans-national crimes are on the rise. In addition, outer space and cyberspace security threats are adding new dimensions to concepts of security. In today’s world, traditional security concerns blend with non-traditional threats and domestic security concerns must be solved in the context of international issues. This makes it hard for traditional security approaches and mechanisms to respond effectively to the various security issues and challenges.

China’s primary military objective is to safeguard the security of national sovereignty guaranteeing that China’s high-speed development can continue uninterrupted. Maintaining social harmony and managing world peace and stability are China’s main goals. In addition, China’s size and rapid development means that some countries are worried about China’s ‘revisionist’ ambitions. Thus one of China’s goals is to reduce the worries of other countries and minimise the negative effects of the ‘China Threat Theory’. In recent years China’s disaster relief efforts, peacekeeping missions and defence exchanges have all increased. According to Professor Yu, one of the biggest issues in Sino-US relations now is America’s offshore activities in the seas surrounding China, due to the two countries’ different legal standards and conflicting ideas about definitions relating to territorial boundaries. Professor Yu concluded that in future China will have to conduct its military strategy with caution: while China has been accused by most Western countries of being more assertive in recent years, the Chinese people see the government’s strategy as being too soft. Balancing domestic and international opinion will be the key to China’s success in future years.

China’s Africa Policy

Professor Li Anshan began his briefing by discussing the similarity in historical experiences of China and Africa in terms of their being exploited by the West. China has a lot to learn from Africa, for example, Africa’s high level of regional integration: more than 50 African countries speak with one voice at the United Nations. In addition, Africa has made remarkable progress in human rights: as soon as Africa gained its independence, women’s rights were equal to men, and women enjoy greater equality in Africa than in China today. While in practice there are still many weaknesses in this area, Africa’s achievements should not be overlooked. In addition, since independence, there have been fewer border wars than expected and peace has largely been preserved between nations. In the past fifty years Africa has certainly achieved a great deal in terms of its nation-building. 

China’s Africa policy can be traced back to Zhou Enlai’s ‘Eight Principles of Development Assistance’, an approach that contrasts sharply with that of the Soviet Union or America. Within Sino-African relations, China never uses the term ‘donor-recipient’ and instead prefers to talk about partners mutually assisting each other and equal relations that are strategic and friendly, where both sides appreciate each other and cooperate for common benefit. China believes that Africa is not a ‘hopeless continent’ and focuses on the positive signs in Africa’s improvement and development. Indeed, looking at Africa’s human and natural resources and cultural heritage, why should Africa be considered poor and hopeless? China also sticks to its principles of giving aid and assistance with no political strings attached, non-interference in domestic affairs and helping Africa to develop the capability of self-reliance. China insists that any Chinese experts sent to Africa should not receive special treatment and should be treated like local experts. 

Important bilateral projects set up between China and Africa to date include educational assistance, for example, China has set up 10 universities in Africa and 20 major Chinese Universities have set up a sister relationship with universities in Africa to engage in research cooperation and training young students in different fields. In addition, China and Africa have exchanged experiences and lessons of development and undergone technological exchanges. China sends medical teams to Africa, offers debt relief assistance and encourages Chinese companies to invest in Africa. While deeper contact has led to some problems, these problems should be seen in a positive light and, through discussion and cooperation, solutions can be found. Professor Li concluded with the message that countries should always seek to treat each other with mutual respect to produce positive, mutually beneficial results.

                                                                                                                                                                                           (by Rebecca Jones)