Strong EU team tests the 'climate' in China[fr][de] 

Officially the main focus of the visit is opening a dialogue with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the Chinese government that will focus on the challenges of climate change and sustainable development. A meeting with President Hu Jintao is also on the agenda. Barroso is accompanied by Commissioners S. Dimas, A. Piebalgs, J. Potočnik, B. Ferrero-Waldner, P. Mandelson, L. Michel, V. Špidla, M. Kuneva and L. Kovács. 

On track to become the biggest economy in the world, China is already the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and the Commission is intent on getting Beijing to contribute to fighting climate change by committing to globally binding emission reduction targets (EurActiv 04/12/07). 

But Barroso and his team also face the difficult task of trying to improve the overall climate of EU-China relations at a time when important pressure groups on the Old Continent, including in the European Parliament, are calling for a boycott of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing - or at least of their opening ceremony. Following China's repression of Tibetan protesters, the European Parliament also has plans to invite the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, to one of its plenary sessions. 

Recent demonstrations in Tibet have already marred the ceremonies of the Olympic torch relays in Western countries and infuriated the Chinese authorities. Anonymous cellphone messages mobilised Chinese protestors against some Western businesses present in China, such as the French retailer Carrefour. 

Barroso however has declared himself against the boycott of the opening ceremonies, which could give him some leverage with his Chinese counterparts. He plans to use this leverage to talk about the Olympics and show the contradiction between the "greatest festivals of youth in the world" and repression and human rights violations. 

Barroso and Prime Minister Wen will also launch an EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Mechanism. Proposed by the Chinese authorities and approved at the EU-China Beijing summit in November 2007, this mechanism will provide a new tool for dealing with the problems confronting European companies trying to establish themselves in China, especially in the fields of investment, market access and protection of intellectual property rights. 

Ahead of the commissioners' visit to Beijing, BusinessEurope circulated a letter listing some of the problems European businessmen face in China. 

Professor Mario Telo, president of the Institute for European Studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, told Euractiv that massive results should not be expected from the visit of Barroso. "But it is important that the Chinese know that the issue of human rights is part of the bilateral and the multilateral agenda with the EU," he stressed. 

He also believes that the visit is a step forward compared with the former approach. Under Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, the approach was only focused on trade and thus featured reluctance to confront Beijing over human rights. Now the EU is dealing with its Asian counterpart with a broad agenda on global issues, including sustainable development. This is extremely important, he said, adding: "If we don't involve China with Kyoto, we are lost." 

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said in London on 19 April that he would not support the boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games as it would do nothing but damage the interests of ordinary Europeans as well as the Chinese. He said that interdependence between China and the UK, as well as with Europe at large, is growing fast. In addition, Europe will have to work in collaboration with China to settle the problems emerging in the process of development. Mandelson added that whether it be Europeans or Americans, China's success would be critical to their own interests. Therefore, any boycott against China would be not in line with the European interests, he stressed. 

While stressing that he is opposed to a boycott of the Olympics as a whole, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering said he is in favour of a common position by the EU leaders. "We will ask the governments of the EU member states, in other words the cabinets, to agree on a shared policy for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 8," said Poettering on German television.