EU, China heading in the right direction

Bernard Dewit, president of the Brussels-based Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, says the summit illustrates the need for dialogue between the two sides, especially as the economies are becoming more interdependent.

Beyond the investment agreement negotiations, Dewit hopes that both sides will agree on the feasibility studies for a free trade agreement. The FTA is expected to help Chinese and European companies to invest in and access each other's markets.

"The new Chinese leadership is clearly willing to reinforce the EU-China strategic leadership and has recognized the importance of the EU in the global economy," Dewit says. "On the other hand, the EU is also serious about deepening its political and economic ties with China."

Christopher Dent, professor of East Asia's International Political Economy at the University of Leeds in the UK, says that future Sino-EU ties will hinge on closely inter-related issues such as energy, resources and climate change.

"Both sides face stiff challenges on these fronts, challenges that will only become more critically important over time," Dent says.

"China and Europe are championing the global efforts on green energy and other sustainable technologies. There is immense scope for cooperation between the two sides," Dent from the University of Leeds says.

The China-EU summit this year is one of several political gatherings between Beijing and major global powers since the new Chinese leadership took power. Since its inception in 1998, most of the annual China-EU summits have taken place in the second half of the year.

However, trade tensions over solar panels since last September have clouded bilateral relations between the two sides.

"Brussels has a love-hate mindset toward Beijing," says former parliamentarian Ford. "The ups and downs of China-EU relations during the past decade have occurred because of the EU's love-hate mindset toward China."

Experts say that although there was a honeymoon period after bilateral ties began in 2003, there is still reluctance in Brussels to end the arms embargo on China. Other major irritants included Brussels' defensive measures against Chinese textile exports in 2005 and the latest anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against China's solar panels.

Holslag from the Brussels Institute, however, feels that both China and Europe are responsible for letting the partnership become one of process rather than progress.

"The good thing is that both sides have recognized that it is not the quantity of dialogue, but the strength of the partnership that matters in global affairs," Holslag says.

"I am not certain whether this will lead to overall improvement, but I can only hope that we start by building a relationship that is strategic and more balanced."