Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-10-Speech-3-056"
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"en.20020410.3.3-056"2
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"Mr President, I salute the rapporteur for his efforts. Whenever the Union's relations with the People's Republic of China are assessed, economic interests are always to the fore. This is certainly understandable; after all, a market of around 1.3 billion people promises absolutely inexhaustible profits for those companies and banks active in it. China's accession to the WTO will further improve the terms for capital recovery. It will also intensify competition between Pacific economic powerhouses like Japan, Taiwan and the United States on the one hand and the EU and its Member States on the other. Everyone wants as large a slice as possible of this huge cake.
This is accompanied by constant reproaches from the political side that China should have more respect for human rights. These overlook or underestimate the fact that China is trying to complement the economic reforms, which have been underway for years, with federal democratic structures, social security systems and economic regulatory mechanisms. In acceding to the WTO, China is continuing this process. Nevertheless, nobody should be under the illusion that this separation of the State and the economy will solve China's immense social problems.
The much lauded market of global capitalism is – whether you like it or not – amoral and not a suitable vehicle for translating basic values such as social justice and solidarity into action. It is and remains the state which is called upon here. There is no other government in the world that bears responsibility for 1.3 billion people. Seeking to establish a multilateral dialogue with China is all well and good, but in so doing nobody should put China under pressure or only have their own interests in mind. Anyone who does put pressure on China should keep a sense of proportion, carry out a realistic assessment of their own potential to meet the same demands and have a clear idea in advance of the effects that it might have. A dialogue is only meaningful and successful if a consensus is sought in the interests of all parties. This also applies to the death penalty. It is right to call for it to be abolished, but we should be just as consistent in calling for it to be abolished in the USA.
Relations with China are more than ever before of strategic political significance. Uni-dimensional development, as is currently happening on China's doorstep as a result of the USA's strategic intentions, would not be very beneficial. Instability would be the result. As the EU enlarges, indeed precisely as it undergoes this process of enlargement, it is called upon to oppose any unilateral attempts to accumulate power, and to maintain and – if necessary – establish and consolidate stability by cultivating a balanced relationship with China."@en1
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