Lawmakers rethinking EU stance on China

Flemming Christiansen, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds, said China had demonstrated its ability to play a key role in global stability, not least through its population control policy and ability to feed its own population.

He said there have been concerns for decades that China would be unable to feed itself, but these fears have proven unfounded. "China feeds 20% of the world population on 7% of the world's arable land," said Christiansen.

Beijing's population control, which includes limits on the number of children families can have, has been effective but it comes at a price, said the UK-based expert. "As population changes over time, it gets older so future workers must provide more added value in order to care for the ageing population," he said.

Urbanisation has also wreaked serious environmental degradation, said Christiansen, but he said China had demonstrated the capacity to solve its problems.

Wang Yiwei, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the EU, said the world is looking at a period of global rebalancing in the wake of the financial crisis.

He said there is no need to fear China, warning against a US-style approach of labelling global players as either "good guys or bad guys". "You shouldn't just measure China based on your expectations. Europe should learn about the Chinese way," he said. 

Wang also noted that China's increased participation in global operations has included significant contributions to international peacekeeping missions.

He said China would do what it can to tackle climate change but warned that putting too much pressure on China would lead to instability, which is not be in anyone's interest.

Italian MEP Vittorio Prodi (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) said the world is "on the eve of civilisation change" and should deal with China on the basis of mutual respect rather than prejudice.

Glyn Ford, co-founder of the Brussels Institute of Chinese Contemporary Studies (BICCS), said that while Europe debates whether China is a responsible stakeholder, it should consider whether Beijing might have a sceptical view of Europe's role on the global stage.

He said Europe is open to criticism for taking inconsistent positions on nuclear power, the Chinese arms embargo, and the valuation of the renminbi.

Ford added that China's involvement in Africa has opened a debate on whether modern Chinese imperialism might be preferable to the European imperialism of recent centuries.

German MEP Elmar Brok (European People's Party) said China's role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council brings responsibilities when it comes to non-proliferation and debating sanctions on Iran.

He said China's position as the world's largest exporter also comes with responsibility, adding that Beijing should do more to tackle climate change.

Jim Moran, director for Asia at the European Commission's external relations directorate, acknowledged the changes made by China in the past decade, notably in peacekeeping and in the G20 response to the financial crisis.

However, he said China should be more transparent when it comes to military spending as some countries – including India – are worried about a threat from China. "Beijing could lance this boil with greater transparency and it wouldn't cost a great deal," he said.

On the other hand, said Moran, the EU should accept that it has a lot of work to do to prove it is a responsible global player when it comes to reforming international financial institutions.

Finnish MEP Heidi Hautala (Greens/European Free Alliance), who chairs the Parliament's subcommittee on human rights, said China had done a lot to increase living standards for hundreds of millions of people.

However, she said China should tolerate more open debate on governance issues, including public discussion on issues related to poorly-constructed schools which collapsed after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008.

Stanley Crossick of the Brussels Institute of Chinese Contemporary Studies (BICCS) said the international role of China must be assessed first from the Chinese domestic standpoint. He said it is essential for China and the world that food, population, productivity and environmental issues are under control.

Crossick added that Beijing could consider "toning down" some the rhetoric of its recent speeches, adding that the last thing China should do is mimic the old Western habit of "preaching" to others.